Library  of  the 
University  of  North  Carolina 

Endowed  bj  the  Dialectic  and  Philan- 
thropic Societies 


#    'M 


^^^■■^\W§ 


:  :^^<m^¥' 


OB^-S 


00032703183 

FOR  USE  ONLY  IN 
THE  NORTH  CAROLINA  COLLECTION 


Form  No.  A -366 


JOB.N  SEVIEE 
AS  A  OOMMOJ^WEALTH-BUILDEE 


One  age  moves  onward,  and  the  next  builds  up 
Cities  and  gorgeous  palaces,  where  stood 
The  rude  log  huts  of  those  who  tamed  the  wild  ; 
Rearing  from  out  the  forests  they  had  felled 
The  goodly  framework  of  a  fairer  state." 

James  Rcssell  Lowell 


A' 


0) 

© 


3 

Pi 


JOH^   SEVIER 


AS  A  commonwealth-buildj:r; 


A   SEQUEL   TO 


THE  REARGUARD  OF  THE  REVOLUTIoif.^ 


JAMES    R.    QILMORE 

(edmuxd  kirke) 

AUTHOR  OF  "THE  REAR-GUARD  OP  THE  REVOLUTION, 
"among  THE  PINES,"  ETC. 


CD 

cr 

o  r~-  - 

■i^  a 


NEW   YORK 
D.    APPLETOX    AND    COMPANY 

1887 


i-fc*:-;"';-:' 


COPTEIGHT,    1887, 

By  D.  APPLETON  AND  COMPANY. 


973.5 

^^^^,  Univ 
PEEFAOE.  ^ 


The  materials  from  which  this  volume  has  been  con- 
structed have  been,  in  part,  the  same  as  those  I  employed 
in  writing  a  preceding  book  upon  the  same  subject,  un- 
der the  title  of  "The  Rear-Guard  of  the  Revolution." 
But  this  work  goes  over  later  and  more  thoroughly  tilled 
ground  than  that,  and  hence  I  have  had  for  it  a  wider 
range  of  authorities. 

Briefly  stated,  my  sources  of  information  have  been, 
first  and  primarily,  lengthy  conversations  with  Dr.  J.  G. 
M.  Ramsey,  of  Knoxville,  Tennessee,  during  which  liis 
'^Annals  of  Tennessee"  was  used  somewhat  in  the  man- 
ner of  a  text-book — Dr.  Ramsey  pointing  out  its  inaccu- 
racies, amplifying  its  narrative  with  interesting  details, 
and  relating  to  me  such  additional  facts  as  he  had  gath- 
ered during  the  nearly  thirty  years  since  the  writing  of 
his  history.  He  was  a  man  of  rare  culture  and  trained 
intellect,  and,  by  the  character  of  his  mind,  was  pecul- 
iarly qualified  for  historical  investigation.  When  I  knew 
him,  he  had  given  fifty  years  of  his  life  to  the  study  of 
this  subject. 


vi  PREFACE. 

Next  in  importance  as  authorities,  I  rank  the  tradi- 
tions which  I  gathered,  during  the  years  from  1880  to 
1884,  by  a  systematic  inquiry  among  the  descendants  of 
the  men  whose  deeds  I  have  recorded.  The  descendants 
whom  I  met  numbered  half  a  hundred,  and  nearly  a 
score  of  them  were  aged  men,  who,  in  their  boyhood, 
had  personally  known  Sevier  and  many  of  his  compatri- 
ots. Their  accounts  I  have  compared  carefully  with  one 
another,  and  yerified  by  all  the  means  at  my  command. 
It  is  my  sincere  conviction  that — in  the  form  they  are 
stated  in  this  book — they  may  be  safely  accepted  as  au- 
thentic history.  Among  many  there  is  a  prejudice 
against  tradition  as  a  foundation  for  historical  writing ; 
but  it  should  be  borne  in  mind  that  most  history  is,  and 
was,  originally  tradition.  By  tradition  I  do  not  mean 
rumor,  but  those  carefully  treasured  accounts  of  striking 
events  and  heroic  exploits,  in  the  lives  of  our  forefathers, 
which  are  handed  down  with  religious  care  from  father 
to  son  in  all  families  having  a  proper  pride  in  their  an- 
cestry. Upon  some  such  traditions  were  undoubtedly 
based  all  but  one  of  the  biographies  we  have  of  the  great- 
est character  in  history  ;  and  my  investigations  into  the 
present  subject  have  given  me  a  singular  light  upon  the 
manner  in  which  at  least  two  of  those  histories,  and  the 
introductory  portion  of  another,  must  have  been  con- 
structed. The  three  synoptic  gospels  accord  wonderfully 
in  their  reports  of  the  spoken  words  of  Christ,  but  they 
differ  considerably  -as  to  the  circumstances  attending 
some  of  the  important  events  which  they  relate.     In  a 


PREFACE.  ^i 


similar  manner,  striking  speeches,  which  in  this  and  the 
previous  volume  I  have  put  into  the  mouths  of  Sevier, 
Shelby,  and  Robertson,  have  been  repeated  to  me  alike, 
word  for  word,  by  half  a  dozen  separate  narrators,  while 
the  same  persons  have  differed  widely  in  their  narrative 
of  events— in  some  instances  so  widely  that  the  accounts 
can  not  be  reconciled,  and  I  have  been  obliged  to  dis- 
card them  all. 

I  have  also  been  aided  in  my  understanding  of  events 
by  visits  to  all  the  i^rincipal  localities  I  have  mentioned, 
and  by  mingling  freely  with  the  men  who  are  descend- 
ants of  the  early  settlers,  and  have  inherited  many  of 
their  great  qualities. 

Of  written  authorities  I  have,  I  think,  consulted  all 
that  bear  upon  my  subject.  Among  other  books,  I  have 
carefully  examined  Albach's  ''Western  Annals";  Mo- 
nette's  ''Yalley  of  the  Mississippi";  Haywood's  ''His- 
tory of  Tennessee" ;  A.  W.  Putnam's  "History  of  Mid- 
dle Tennessee";  Prof.  W.  W.  Clayton's  "History  of 
Davidson  County,  Tennessee";  Francis  Baily's  "Jour- 
ney through  the  Unsettled  Parts  of  North  America  in 
1796-1797";  the  Eev.  T.  W.  Hume's  (Knoxville)  "Cen- 
tennial Address"  ;  the  volumes  of  the  "Columbian  Mag- 
azine" from  1785-1797;  a  file  of  the  "Knoxville  Ga- 
zette "from  1791-1796  (kindly  forwarded  to  me,  across 
a  thousand  miles  of  country,  by  the  Tennessee  Historical 
Society)  ;  and,  in  addition,  through  the  courtesy  of 
Prof.  Johnson  T.  Piatt  and  Addison  Van  Name,  Esq.,  I 
have  had  access  to  the  very  complete  collection  of  Colo- 


Vlll 


PREFACE. 


nial  and  Eevolutionary  newspapers  contained  in  the  li- 
brary of  Yale  University.  . 

I  haye  also  received  essential  aid  from  Mrs.  William 
O'Neil  Perkins,  of  Franklin,  Tennessee,  who  has  fur- 
nished me  with  very  many  letters  from  John  Sevier  to 
his  son,  George  Washington  Sevier  ;  various  written  state- 
ments of  fact  by  her  father,  the  historian  of  Middle  Ten- 
nessee ;  and  other  documents  that  have  helped  to  make 
the  present  volume  more  full  and  accurate.  This  lady 
has  the  peculiar  honor  to  be  the  great-granddaughter  of 
General  John  Sevier,  the  hero  of  King's  Mountain,  and 
also  of  General  Israel  Putnam,  the  hero  of  Bunker  Hill. 
She  is  also  the  granddaughter  of  Colonel  George  Wash- 
ington Sevier,  and  the  daughter  of  Colonel  A.  W.  Put- 
nam, of  Nashville — a  pedigree  more  to  be  valued  than  a 
descent  from  kings.  To  her  my  acknowledgments  are 
strongly  due ;  and  also  to  the  Hon.  John  M.  Lea,  the 
President,  and  to  Anson  Nelson,  Esq.,  the  Secretary,  of 
the  Tennessee  Historical  Society,  for  their  hearty  interest 
and  co-operation  in  my  work ;  as  well  as  to  the  Society 
itself,  for  its  public  indorsement  of  the  accuracy  and 
value  of  my  previous  volume. 

And  now  I  beg  to  say  a  few  words  of  an  explanatory 
character.  In  the  course  of  this  volume  I  speak  in  con- 
demnatory terms  of  two  enemies  of  Sevier,  Joseph  Martin 
and  John  Tipton.  I  have  quoted  some  of  Martin's  let- 
ters ;  and  they  are  enough  to  chow  that  he  was  a  treach- 
erous friend  and  a  self-seeking  demagogue.  My  charac- 
terization of  Tipton  is  based  upon  the  facts  I  relate  of 


PREFACE.  ix 

him,  every  one  of  whicli  is  abundantly  authenticated. 
My  opinion  of  him  accords  with  that  of  Dr.  J.  G.  M. 
Kamsey ;  but  it  is  not  universal  among  Tennesseeans. 
To  be  assured  that  I  was  correct  in  my  estimate  of  the 
man,  I  have  sent  my  manuscript  to  one  of  the  first  ju- 
rists of  Tennessee,  who  is,  no  doubt,  better  acquainted 
with  the  history  of  the  State  than  any  one  now  in  it ; 
and  his  reply  shows  that  he  does  not  take  my  vieAv  of 
Tipton's  character.  He  writes  :  ^*  Tipton  was  always  re- 
garded as  a  rough  and  uneducated,  but  a  brave  and 
honorable  man.  I  know  many  of  the  family,  and  to  a 
man  they  are  courageous  and  true ;  but  self-willed,  im- 
pulsive, and  imperious.  You  may  be  correct  in  your  con- 
ception of  his  character ;  but,  if  anybody  else  than  one 
who  had  investigated  the  subject  were  to  write  of  Tipton 
as  you  have  done,  I  should  think  he  had  misconceived 
his  character,  or,  rather,  had  magnified  its  objectionable 
features."  I  regret  that  I  can  not  make  my  views  of 
Tipton  accord  with  those  of  this  gentleman.  I  differ 
from  him  with  much  reluctance,  and  only  after  much 
questioning  of  my  own  judgment;  but,  while  I  would 
*' gently  scan  my  brother  man,"  I  can  not,  in  the  face 
of  incontestable  facts,  come  to  any  other  conclusion 
about  Tipton  than  the  one  I  have  stated  in  this  his- 
tory. However,  if  my  judgment  upon  him  is  too  harsh, 
it  will  not  stand  ;  and,  also,  new  facts  may  yet  be  dis- 
covered to  compel  a  more  favorable  view  of  his  char- 
acter. 

Before  I  began  this  book  I  intended  to  include  in  it 


X  PREFACE. 

an  account  of  the  remarkable  career  of  James  Kobertson  ; 
but  I  soon  discovered  that  I  could  not  so  condense  my 
material  as  to  make  that  possible.  That  work,  therefore, 
I  have  to  reserve  for  another  volume. 

This  is  all  I  have  to  say,  except  that  I  wish  my  book 
were  worthier  of  my  subject.  It  is  only  as  good  as  my 
poor  ability  and  the  limited  time  at  my  disposal  have 
enabled  me  to  make  it ;  but,  just  as  it  is,  I  commit  it 
to  public  scrutiny,  in  the  hope  that  it  may  awaken  an 
interest  in  the  great  character  it  attempts  to  delineate, 
and  lead  other  and  abler  historical  writers  to  investigate 
his  career,  and  do  more  eflQcient  justice  to  his  memory. 

James  E.  Gilmoee. 

(Edmund  Kirke.) 


CO]:^TE]^TS 


CHAPTER  I. 

PAGE 

The  Actors  m  tuis  IIistoey 1 

The  thirteen  colonies,  as  characterized  by  Rev.  Ilugh  Jones 
in  1750 — Early  settlers  of  North  Carolina — Bancroft's  report  of 
them — The  character  of  a  majority  of  the  people — A  better 
class  settled  in  Wake,  Orange,  and  Mecklenburg  Counties — 
The  first  trans-AUeghany  settlers  a  different  people — Thoir  char- 
acter and  history — Their  great  achievements  largely  due  to  the 
remarkable  character  of  John  Sevier — His  early  history,  and 
singular  ascendency  over  men. 


CHAPTER  II. 
The  Fiest  Secession 19 

No  sympathy  between  North  Carolina  and  the  western  set- 
tlers— Condition  of  the  States  at  the  close  of  the  Revolution — 
Extent  of  western  territory  belonging  to  North  Carolina — 
Powers  of  Congress  under  the  first  Confederation — North  Caro- 
lina cedes  her  western  territory  to  Congress — Consternation  of 
the  western  people — Threatened  by  enemies  without  and  within 
— Meeting  of  settlers  and  call  for  a  convention,  which  resolves 
to  form  a  State  government — North  Carolina  repeals  the  ces- 
sion act,  and  concedes  the  demands  of  the  settlers — The  con- 
cessions not  generally  satisfactory — Sevier  opposes  secession, 


xii  CONTENTS. 

PAGE 

but  is  borne  along  with  the  current — John  Tipton  an  ardent 
secessionist — His  character — The  mistake  of  Sevier — Reasons 
for  his  action — State  of  Franklin  formed,  Sevier  elected  Gov- 
ernor, and  John  Tipton  and  Joseph  Martin  left  out  in  the  cold. 

CHxVPTER  III. 

The  Abortive  Commonwealth 35 

Extent  and  population  of  the  seceded  territory — The  task  be- 
*  fore  Sevier — He  brings  order  out  of  disorder — Establishes  a 
currency — Invites  the  Cherokees  to  a  treaty — Disaffection  of  the 
Cherokees — Unwise  effort  of  Governor  Martin  to  pacify  them — 
Sevier's  treaty  with  them  at  Dumplin  Creek,  which  secures  a 
large  accession  of  territory — Belligerent  manifesto  of  Governor 
Martin — Sevier's  reply  to  Governor  Caswell — Caswell's  letter  to 
Sevier — Prosperity  of  Franklin — Backwater  settlements  seek 
annexation  to  Franklin — Action  of  Joseph  Martin — He  secures 
the  treaty  of  Hopewell — Its  injurious  character — "  Talk  "  of  the 
Cherokee  king  to  Governor  Caswell — Martin's  treachery  and 
betrayal  of  Sevier, 

CHAPTEPw  lY. 

The  Beginxing  of  Teoiibles .64 

Meeting  of  the  Constitutional  Convention— rHouston's  Utopian 
Constitution — Tipton's  sudden  conversion  to  North  Carolina — 
Sevier  proposes  the  adoption  of  the  North  Carolina  Constitu- 
tion— Partial  elections  authorized  by  North  Carolina — Tipton 
elected  to  the  North  Carolina  Senate — Hostilities  with  the 
Cherokees — Sevier  promptly  invades  their  country — Escapes  an 
ambuscade — General  Cocke's  conference  with  the  Cherokee  chief- 
tains— Punishment  of  Indian  murderers — The  Cherokees  sub- 
dued. 

CHAPTER  Y. 
Fethtlesb  Oveetures 85 

Sevier  makes  overtures  to  North  Carolina — Appoints  General 
Cocke  and  Judge  Campbell  commissioners — His  letter  to  Gov- 


CONTENTS.  xiii 

PAGK 

ernor  Caswell — Letter  of  Judge  Campbell  to  the  same — Address 
of  General  Cocke  to  the  North  Carolina  Legislature — It3  ad- 
verse action — General  removal  of  over-mountain  officials. 


CHAPTER  YL 

The  CnosEN  Altekxative 99 

Danger  of  war  with  the  Creeks — Co-operation  proposed  by 
Georgia,  which  State  appoints  Sevier  brigadier-general — Letter 
of  Major  Elholm — Franklin  authorizes  a  call  for  volunteers — 
Statement  of  the  position  of  Spain — Feeling  of  Western  settlers 
— Letter  from  General  Clarke  to  Sevier — From  Judge  Campbell 
to  Governor  Caswell — The  whole  West  ready  to  secede  from  the 
Union — The  alternatives  before  Sevier — He  chooses  peaceable 
resistance — His  letter  to  Governor  Caswell — Caswell  to  Sevier — 
Tipton's  turbulent  conduct — Peace  agreement  between  Sevier 
and  Evan  Shelby. 

CHAPTER  YIL 

QuAKEE  Guns •     .        .        .    126 

Prosperity  in  Franklin — Fresh  disturbances  incited  by  Tipton 
— Two  parties  forming — Shelby  requests  troops  from  North 
Carolina — Bledsoe  advises  the  Governor  to  address  the  people 
— Letter  from  Caswell  to  Shelby — Sevier  urged  to  make  for- 
cible resistance — Again  attempts  a  peaceable  settlement — Gov- 
ernor Caswell's  conciliatory  manifesto  to  the  people,  which 
brings  about  a  peaceable  dissolution  of  the  Franklin  govern- 
ment— Sevier,  however,  the  real  head  of  the  people — Three 
thousand  volunteers  answer  his  summons  to  aid  Georgia — An 
empty  treasury — Sevier  arms  troops  to  aid  Robertson  at  his  own 
cost,  and  contracts  debts  in  so  doing — Sevier  elected  to  the  Cin- 
cinnati— Letter  to  him  from  Benjamin  Franklin — Another  at- 
tempt to  conciliate  North  Carolina — Sevier  outlawed — Sevier's 
negroes  seized  by  Tipton — A  Quaker  battle. 


xiv  CONTENTS. 

PAGE 

CHAPTER  YIII. 
Seviee  as  an  Outlaw 158 

The  French  Broad  people — Hostile  plans  of  Joseph  Martin — 
Offers  office  to  Sevier's  captains — Sevier  at  Greenville,  and  con- 
ference with  his  officers — Advises  submission  to  North  Caro- 
lina— With  only  two  hundred  and  fifty  men  he  marches  against 
the  Cherokees — Contradictory  letters  of  Joseph  Martin — Sevier 
crosses  the  French  Broad ;  his  route  an  ovation — Preparations 
for  defense — Sevier  to  the  Governor  of  Georgia — The  murder  of 
Kirk's  family — Sevier  invades  the  Indian  country — Murder  of 
the  Cherokee  king  and  chieftains  by  young  Kirk — It  more 
thoroughly  arouses  the  nation — A  hand-to-hand  fight  of  five 
months'  duration — The  Indians  beaten  at  last,  and  sue  for 
peace. 

CHAPTER  IX. 

OVEETHEOW   AND   TElUMPn 197 

Order  for  Sevier's  arrest  issued  by  Governor  Johnston — 
Judge  Campbell  refuses  to  issue  the  warrant — It  is  done  by  Judge 
Spencer,  of  North  Carolina — Sevier  kidnapped,  and  conveyed  to 
Morganton,  North  Carolina,  to  be  tried  for  high  treason — Great 
uprising  of  the  western  settlers — Sevier's  wife  plans  his  rescue 
— Tipton  in  danger  of  lynch  law — Details  of  Sevier's  rescue- 
Sudden  death  of  Judge  Spencer — Great  rejoicing  over  Sevier's 
rescue — Sevier  elected  to  the  North  Carolina  Senate — Claims  his 
seat  of  the  Legislature — Fracas  between  Tipton  and  Colonel 
Roddy — Eloquent  plea  of  Kobertson — Sevier's  disabilities  re- 
moved, and  he  given  command  of  the  western  militia — Elected 
as  the  first  representative  in  Congress  from  the  valley  of  the 
•   Mississippi. 

CHAPTER  X. 

Teeeitorial  Goveenment 219 

Disordered  state  of  French  Broad  settlements — Sevier  frames 
for  them  a  government — Dissatisfaction  with  North  Carolina — 
She  again  cedes  her  western  territory  to  Congress — A  territorial 


CONTENTS.  ^^ 

povernment  formed— Sevier  appointed  brij^adier-general  in  the 
United  States  army  by  Washington— A  prosperous  era  dawns 
upon  the  western  settlers  — Settlement  of  Knoxville  — Fort 
erected— Treaty  of  Ilolston,  and  meeting  of  Sevier  and  Robert- 
son-Sevier builds  a  cordon  of  block-houses— Removes  with  his 
family  to  the  extreme  frontier— Knoxville  threatened  by  the 
Cherokees— Heroic  preparations  for  defense— Sevier  pursues 
the  Indians  and  defeats  them  at  Etowah. 


244 


270 


CHAPTER  XI. 
PioxEER  Life  in  179 G 

Henceforth  peace  and  Xohchucky  Jack  reigaupon  the  border 
—Remarkable  achievements  of  the  western  settlers— Farm-life 
among  them— Xo  lack  of  society  and  social  gatherings— Thrill- 
ing tales  of  female  heroism— Happy  ruse  of  Major  Cozby  in 
defense  of  his  family— A  backwoods  physician— The  "Knox- 
ville Gazette"— Postal  service— Frontier  traveling— Cowan's 
store— Scenes  at  Sevier's  inauguration  as  Governor  of  Ten- 
nessee. 

CHAPTEPv   XII. 
The  New  Commoxwealth  .... 

Population  in  Kentucky  as  compared  with  that  of  southwest 
territory— Meeting  of  Territorial  Legislature— State  of  Tennes- 
see formed— Sevier  elected  Governor— His  first  message— French 
Broad  settlers— Sevier  re-elected— His  peace  policv  subjected 
to  a  severe  strain— Condition  of  things  as  described  by  Francis 
Baily— Another  treaty  with  the  Cherokees  which  secures  per- 
manent peace— The  savages  ever  afterward  Sevier's  friends- 
Great  change  in  the  customs  and  mode  of  life  on  the  frontier  in 
consequence  of  Sevier's  full  ascendency. 

CHAPTER   XIII. 

Closing  Years 289 

This  book  not  a  history  of  Tennessee-"  Happy  are  the  peo- 
ple whose  annals  are  vacant  "-Sevier  six  times  unanimously 


xvi  CONTENTS. 

PAGE 

elected  Governor  and  three  times  Congressman  —  Fifty-two 
years  in  public  life,  and  always  a  leader  of  men — His  peculiar 
rule — His  great  popularity — An  illustrative  incident — Remarka- 
ble good  order  of  western  society — ^^Vn  upright  lawyer — Sevier's 
care  for  the  poor — A  message  of  his — Trouble  with  Andrew 
Jackson — Challenged  by  Jackson  to  a  duel — His  poor  opinion 
of  Jackson — Sevier's  poverty,  his  simple  way  of  life,  his  death, 
amid  universal  mourning  in  Tennessee  and  throughout  the 
West. 


jo:e:n  seViMr. 


■,';:■■;.  CHAPTER  I. 

THE  «fi.<?ZORS  l-]!^'  IHig.;  i|lsik)IlY. 

The  thirteen  United  Gclonies,  whicli  in  1783  achieved 
their  independence  of  Great  Britain,  were  composed  of 
as  heterogeneous  elements  as  ever  came  together  for 
the  forming  of  a  nation.  Among  them  were  men  of 
every  class  and  nationality,  every  rank  and  character, 
and  every  variety  of  political  and  religious  opinion. 
Writing  of  them  in  1750,  the  Rev.  Hugh  Jones,  chap- 
lain to  the  Honorable  Assembly  of  Virginia,  and  min- 
ister of  Jamestown,  said  :  ''  If  New  England  be  called 
a  receptacle  of  Dissenters,  and  an  Amsterdam  of  relig- 
ion, Pennsylvania  the  nursery  of  Quakers,  Maryland 
the  retirement  of  Roman  Catholics,  North  Carolina  the 
refuge  of  Runaways,  and  South  Carolina  the  delight 
of  Buccaneers  and  Pyrates,  A^irginia  may  justly  be 
esteemed  the  happy  retreat  of  true  Britons,  and  true 
Churchmen,  for  the  most  part,  neither  soaring  too 
high  nor  dropping  too    low  ;  consequently,    it  should 


2  JOHN  SEVIER. 

merit  the  greater  esteem  and  encouragement."  His- 
tory fully  confirms  the  worthy  chaplain's  characteriza- 
tion of  the  various  co'lonies,  and  it  records  also  the 
isingular  fact  that.efW:'y,l^orth  CanoKn^,  ,the  **  refuge  of 
Eunaways,"  was- t|ie  nfst-born  daugnt^r  of  Virginia, 
that  *^happy'^ret'f3at  of  true  Britons/and' true  Church- 
men." 

Though  the  Lords  Proprietors  of  the  C^irolinas  in- 
troduced into  the  northern  colony  prior  to  1670  several 
ship-loads  of  rcGpectable  English  settlers  from  Barba- 
does,  and  consi/lernble  numbers  of  ,S wise,  German,  and 
French  Protestants  came  in  soon  afterward,  and  some 
small  colonies  of  Scotch  Jacobites  directly  following 
the  Stuart  rebellion  of  1745,  a  large  majority  of  the 
early  settlers  of  North  Carolina  were  "runaways" 
from  Virginia — either  criminals,  escaping  from  justice 
in  the  older  colony,  or  "worthless  trash,"  expelled  from 
it  because  disorderly,  and  altogether  unprofitable  in  a 
civilized  community.  These  last  were  the  remnants  or 
descendants  of  the  servile  class  who  had  in  former 
years  been  imported  to  work  the  plantations,  and  in- 
dentured to  the  planters  to  pay  their  passage  across 
the  ocean.  They  were  Englishmen,  but,  for  the  most 
part,  Englishmen  who  could  trace  their  lineage  no 
further  than  the  prisons  and  slums  of  London.  Their 
indentures  expired,  they  found  themselves  shut  out  from 
respectable  society  by  the  prejudice  entailed  by  their 
antecedents ;  and  the  consequence  was  that  the  meaner- 
spirited  among  them  became  outcasts,  herding  together 


THE  ACTORS  IN  THIS   HISTORY.  3 

in  the  backwoods,  and  gleaning  a  wretched  subsistence 
from  hunting  and  fishing  ;  or,  hanging  upon  the  out- 
skirts of  the  plantations,  living  there  in  filthy  cabins, 
and  preying  upon  the  i^lanters'  henneries  and  smoke- 
houses. The  better  and  more  enterprising  portion— 
those  who  retained  some  lingering  traces  of  manhood, 
and  had  some  aspirations  for  a  higher  life — emigrated 
at  once  to  North  Carolina,  where,  being  joined  by  such 
of  the  outcasts  as  were  from  time  to  time  expelled  by 
the  planters,  they  formed  the  principal  element  in 
what  soon  came  to  be  known  in  the  yernacular  of  the 
period  as  the  "Tar-heel  Commonwealth."  From  a 
people  of  such  antecedents  a  model  community  could 
not  be  expected  ;  and  we  shall  see  that  the  tree  bore 
its  legitimate  fruit  if  we  glance  for  a  moment  at  the 
condition  of  North  Carolina  at  the  time  of  the  RcyoIu- 
tion. 

Bancroft  asserts  that  at  this  period  there  was  neither 
law  nor  lawyers  in  North  Carolina.  This,  though  sub- 
stantially true,  was  not  so  literally ;  for  lawyers  might 
be  found  there  of  the  order  of  Andrew  Jackson,  who 
varied  a  two-years'  reading  of  Blackstone  by  intense  ap- 
plication to  horse-racing  and  cock-fighting ;  and  courts 
could  be  discovered  sitting  in  taverns  and  log-hovels, 
with  judges  knowing  nothing  of  law  or  precedent,  and 
coming  to  their  decisions  only  after  close  consultation 
with  a  whisky-bottle.  Judge  Lynch  was  the  popular 
magistrate,  and  his  decrees  were  usually  those  of  a  crowd 
of  hooting  and  drunken  ragamuffins.     Until  1703  there 


4  JOHN  SEVIER. 

was  not  a  clergyman  in  the  entire  colony,  and  the  first 
school  was  opened  and  printing-press  established  just 
on  the  eve  of  the  Eevolntion.  As  a  consequence,  the 
people  were  densely  ignorant,  few  among  them  could 
read  or  write,  and  disorder  and  lawlessness  everywhere 
abounded.  To  a  few  towns  along  the  sea- coast  a  mail 
came  once  a  month  from  Virginia,  but  the  post-rider 
never  penetrated  into  the  interior.  There  the  people 
dwelt  in  thick  darkness,  having  from  year's  end  to 
year's  end  no  more  intelligence  from  the  outside  world 
than  could  be  gleaned  from  the  few  travelers  who  had 
the  hardihood  to  venture  into  their  wooded  solitudes. 
There  was  next  to  no  town  life.  New  Berne  and  Wil- 
mington, the  principal  towns,  had  each  a  population  of 
less  than  six  hundred.  A  vast  majority  of  the  people 
occupied  small,  scattered  farms — often  unfenced  clear- 
ings in  the  midst  of  wide  forests,  from  which  the  trees 
had  been  removed  by  girdling,  and  which  were  culti- 
vated by  negro-labor  in  a  most  primitive  and  wasteful 
manner.  Tor  the  farmer  himself,  however  poor  he 
might  be,  was  either  too  proud  or  too  lazy  to  work. 
His  time  he  spent  in  lounging  at  taverns,  drinking 
poor  whisky,  and  indulging  in  ''manly  encounters" 
with  his  neighbors,  in  which  noses  were  broken,  and 
eyes  gouged  out  by  the  long  finger-nails  which  he  al- 
lowed to  grow,  and  pared  to  a  point  for  that  express 
purpose.  In  aspiration  and  instinct  he  was  generally 
but  a  little  above  the  brute ;  and  yet  he  did  know 
enough  to  dodge  his  taxes.     Law  and  religion  were  to 


THE  ACTORS  IN   THIS  HISTORY.  5 

him  unmeaning  terms,  and  the  chief  end  of  man  was 
to  live  without  work,  and  keep  down  the  expenses  of 
government.  Owing  to  a  coarse  diet  and  brutish  habits, 
these  people  were  poorly  developed  physically,  and  they 
regarded  with  astonishment  the  uniformly  tall  and 
athletic  over-mountain  men  who  marched  over  their 
wretched  roads  to  fight  the  battle  they  should  them- 
selves have  fought  at  King's  Mountain. 

But  there  were  a  few  grains  of  wheat  in  this  big 
bushel  of  chaff — a  few  brave  spirits,  *^  studious  of  their 
rights,  bold  to  avow,  and  brave  to  maintain  them," 
whose  i^atriotic  acts  have  cast  a  gleam  of  sunlight  over 
the  dismal  history  of  Eevolutionary  North  Carolina. 
These  men  were  mostly  of  the  foreign  element  which 
had  settled  in  Orange,  "Wake,  and  Mecklenburg  Counties. 
In  resistance  to  the  tyranny  of  Tryon,  they  in  May, 
1771,  fought  the  battle  of  the  Alamance,  and  in  May, 
1775,  they  issued  what  is  known  as  the  '^  Mecklenburg 
Declaration  of  Independence."  These  two  acts  have 
given  North  Carolina  the  name  of  being  the  first  of  the 
colonies  to  make  organized  resistance  to  British  oppres- 
sion ;  while  in  truth  the  credit  belongs  to  but  a  small 
fraction  of  the  population.  A  large  proportion  of  the 
people  were  what  I  have  described ;  and  many  of  them 
were  Tories  in  the  Ee volution  ;  and  Tories  not  from 
any  intelligent  idea  of  the  issues  at  stake,  but  because 
all  of  the  better  class  among  them  were  patriots,  and 
their  instincts  led  them  to  oppose  the  law  and  order 
element.     Impartial  history  has  to  record  the  fact  that 


6  JOH]^  SEVIER. 

at  this  period  the  masses  of  North  Carolina  were  the 
pariahs  of  American  society,  and  the  State  itself 
little  better  than  a  Botany  Bay  for  the  American 
continent. 

The  men  who  planted  civilization  beyond  the  Alle- 
ghanies  were  a  different  order  of  peoj)le.  Though  set- 
tled on  the  soil,  and  within  the  jurisdiction  of  North 
Carolina,  they  were  not  North  Carolinians.  They  were 
mostly  Virginians,  belonging  either  to  the  gentry  or  to 
the  sturdy  Scotch-Irish  and  English  yeomanry  who 
worked  their  own  plantations.  Of  this  latter  class  was 
the  body  of  immigrants  whom  James  Robertson  led 
over  the  mountains  in  1770  to  form  the  first  civilized 
settlement  west  of  the  Alleghanies.  They  were  Virgin- 
ians who -had  only  shortly  before  settled  in  Wake  County, 
and  they  supposed,  when  they  built  their  cabins  beyond 
the  mountains,  that  they  were  again  upon  the  soil  of  the 
Old  Dominion  ;  and  this  was  the  impression  of  all  the 
settlers  till  a  number  of  years  afterward.  For  nearly  ten 
years  the  immigration  continued  to  be  of  this  class,  and 
almost  altogether  from  Virginia,  for  n(y  road  had  yet 
been  opened  into  Eastern  North  Carolina,  and  the 
hunters'  trace  across  the  mountains  was  well-nigh  im- 
passable ;  whereas,  from  Virginia  there  was,  following 
the  southwestern  trend  of  the  valleys,  a  broad,  beaten 
trail  which  had  been  the  Indian  war-path  for  many 
centuries.  When  a  passable  road  was  finally  opened  over 
the  Alleghanies  in  1778,  a  tide  began  to  set  in  from 
North  Carolina,  but  it  was  of  the  better  class — for  it  goes 


THE  ACTORS  IX  THIS  HISTORY.  7 

without  saying  that  a  man  must  be  possessed  of  very 
manly  qualities  who  will  deliberately  set  up  his  abode 
where  he  has  to  take  his  life  in  his  hand  and  face  death 
daily.  Still,  the  larger  number  of  new-comers  continued 
to  be  from  Virginia,  and  the  dominant  sentiment  was 
always  Virginian,  alike  on  the  Holston  and  Watauga 
and  on  the  distant  Cumberland.  With  but  one  exception 
the  trans- Alleghany  leaders  were  all  native  Virginians — 
Sevier,  Donelson,  and  the  two  Bledsoes  being  from  the 
ranks  of  the  gentry,  Kobertson  and  Cocke  from  that 
yeoman  class  which  has  given  some  of  its  most  honored 
names  to  English  history.  The  one  exception  was  Isaac 
Shelby,  who  was  of  Welsh  descent,  but  born  and  edu- 
cated in  Maryland. 

The  over-mountain  settlers  were  not  fugitives  from 
justice,  nor  needy  adventurers  seeking  in  the  untrodden 
West  a  scanty  subsistence  which  had  been  denied  them 
in  the  Eastern  settlements.  And  they  were  not  merely 
Virginians — they  were  the  culled  wheat  of  the  Old  Do- 
minion, with  all  those  grand  qualities  which  made  the 
name  of  "  Virginian  "  a  badge  of  honor  throughout  the 
colonies.  Many  of  them  were  cultivated  men  of  large 
property,  and,  though  the  larger  number  were  poor  in 
this  world's  goods,  they  all  possessed  those  more  stable 
riches  which  consist  of  stout  arms  and  brave  hearts, 
unblemished  integrity  and  sterling  worth.  They  were  so 
generally  educated  that  in  1776  only  two  in  about  two 
hundred  were  found  unable  to  write  their  names  in  good, 
legible  English.     No  body  of  men  ever  had  clearer  ideas 


8  JOH]Sr  SEVIER. 

of  civil  polity  or  more  highly  yalued  the  blessings  of 
good  government.  Order-loving  and  God-fearing,  they 
lived  together  for  twelve  years  without  so  much  as  one 
capital  crime  among  them.  Shut  out  by  wide  forests 
and  high  mountain-barriers  from  civilized  law,  they 
made  their  own  laws,  and  framed  for  themselves  a 
government  which  was,  with  the  sole  exception  of  the 
*^ Fundamental  Agreement,"  entered  into  by  the  ''free 
planters  "  of  New  Haven  on  June  4,  1639 — the  first  abso- 
lutely ''  free  and  independent  "  constitution  that  existed 
in  this  country. 

The  ruling  motive  of  many  of  these  men — as  it  is 
generally  of  those  who  seek  new  fields  of  enterprise — was, 
no  doubt,  the  bettering  of  their  worldly  condition  ;  nev- 
ertheless, I  think  it  true  that  much  the  larger  number 
sought  in  their  "Western  homes  not  so  much  worldly 
wealth  as  political  freedom.  They  would  be  beyond  the 
reach  of  the  ''red-coated  minions  of  tyranny";  they 
dreaded  less  the  war-whoop  of  the  savage  than  the  sting- 
ing insult  of  the  British  oppressor.  But  their  leaders 
were  far-seeing  men,  and  they  had  higher  aims  than  a 
mere  escape  from  political  tyranny.  They  sought  to 
found  in  those  Western  forests  a  great  empire  of  free- 
men, and  they  knew  they  were  clearing  the  way  for  a 
civilization  which  should  overspread  the  continent.  Said 
Eobertson,  while  yet  the  navigation  of  the  Mississippi 
was  controlled  by  Spain,  and  all  the  vast  region  beyond 
that  river  was  fast-locked  by  her  mediaeval  bigotry,  "  We 
are  the  Advance  Guard  of  Civilization,  and  our  way  is 


THE   ACTORS  IN  THIS  HISTORY.  9 

across  the  continent  "  ;  and  to  Governor  Caswell,  Sevier 
wrote,  when  the  settlers  were  but  a  handful,  '^However 
inconsiderable  the  people  of  this  country  may  appear  at 
this  day,  reason  must  inform  us  that  the  time  is  not  far 
distant  when  they  will  become  as  consequential  in 
numbers,  if  not  more  so,  than  most  of  the  Eastern 
States." 

Under  these  two  leaders,  John  Sevier  and  James  Rob- 
ertson, these  people  had  developed  a  boundless  courage,  a 
constant  fortitude,  a  self-devoted  patriotism,  worthy  of 
the  most  heroic  ages.  When  only  a  handful  of  thirty 
men  able  to  wield  an  axe  or  handle  a  rifle,  they  ventured 
beyond  the  Alleghanies,  and  in  the  mountain-girt  valley 
of  the  Watauga  built  their  cabins  and  tilled  their  fields, 
encompassed  by  twenty  thousand  armed  savages,  and 
shut  off  by  a  trackless  wilderness  from  all  civilized  suc- 
cor. There  for  five  years  they  held  their  ground,  till 
they  grew  to  number  about  two  hundred  riflemen,  and 
then,  under  John  Sevier,  they  began  a  career  for  which  it 
is  hard  to  find  a  parallel  in  history.  Outnumbered  more 
than  twenty  to  one,  they  held  for  six  years  the  gateways 
of  the  Alleghanies  against  the  savage  horde  which  Great 
Britain  had  enlisted  for  the  destruction  of  the  colonies. 
Time  and  again  they  met  the  savage  onset,  and  time  and 
again  they  beat  it  back,  and  carried  havoc  and  death  into 
the  very  heart  of  the  Indian  country.  And  so  well  did 
they  guard  the  mountain-passes  that  in  all  these  years 
not  one  savage  band  broke  through  to  carry  the  torch 
and  the  tomahawk  to  the  homes  of  Eastern  Carolina. 


10  JOHN  SEVIER. 

Their  own  cabins  went  up  in  flames,  their  own  firesides 
were  drenched  in  blood,  and  their  mothers  and  wives 
and  children  fell  before  the  merciless  scalping-knife  of 
the  Cherokee,  yet  they  never  shrank  and  never  wa- 
vered, but  stood,  from  first  to  last,  the  immovable  rear- 
guard of  the  Eevolution.  And  not  content  with  this, 
when  the  day  was  at  the  darkest,  when  seaboard  Carolina 
was  trodden  under  foot  by  the  red  dragoon,  and  the 
young  republic  seemed  in  the  very  throes  of  dissolution, 
they  left  their  own  homes  well-nigh  unprotected,  and, 
mustering  their  best  and  bravest,  rushed  over  the  mount- 
ains to  the  rescue  of  their  distant  countrymen.  Making 
an  unexampled  march  of  two  hundred  miles,  they  hurled 
themselves,  only  nine  hundred  and  fifty  strong,  against 
the  almost  impregnable  defenses  of  King's  Mountain, 
and,  in  one  hour,  annihilated  the  left  wing  of  the  army 
of  Cornwallis !  The  result,  in  logical  sequence,  was 
Yorktown  and  American  independence. 

Doubtless,  the  great  achievements  of  the  over-mount- 
ain men  were  largely  due  to  the  remarkable  qualities  of 
John  Sevier,  who  was  both  their  civil  and  military  leader. 
He  knew  how  to  achieve  great  results  with  slender  means, 
and  before  Napoleon  was  born  had  discovered  that  prin- 
cijile  of  dynamics  by  which  a  small  body,  driven  with  im- 
mense force,  will  deal  a  heavier  blow  than  a  much  larger 
one  having  only  the  ordinary  momentum.  He  was  a 
man  of  great  natural  endowments,  and  of  a  training  that 
peculiarly  fitted  him  to  be  what  he  became,  the  rear- 
guard of  the  Eevolution,  and  the  guardian  and  defender 


THE   ACTORS  IN  THIS  HISTORY.  H 

of  the  newly  planted  civilization  beyond  the  Alleghanies. 
No  other  man  of  equal  talents  and  equal  achievements 
has  been  so  little  noticed  in  American  history,  and  hence 
it  is  not  amiss  to  devote  a  few  pages  to  a  consideration  of 
his  life  and  its  influence  in  founding  and  developing  the 
great  emj^ire  which  has  grown  up  west  of  the  Allegha- 
nies. 

He  was  not  of  the  ordinary  type  of  backwoodsman. 
He  was  a  gentleman  born  and  bred ;  and  in  his  veins 
flowed  some  of  the  best  blood  of  the  French  and  English 
nations.  He  had  the  force  and  fire  of  the  Navarre  Hu- 
guenots combined  with  the  solid  Anglo-Saxon  elements 
which  have  had  here,  perhaps,  their  highest  expression 
in  our  venerated  Washington.  This  peculiar  blending 
of  qualities  was  seen  even  in  his  face,  which,  while  in 
contour  and  lineament  strikingly  like  that  of  Washing- 
ton, had  the  mobility  of  feature  and  delicacy  of  expres- 
sion which  belong  to  the  French  physiognomy. 

He  was  born  in  1745,  in  the  Shenandoah  Valley  of 
Virginia,  where  his  father  had  established  himself  a  few 
years  before  as  a  considerable  planter.  The  place  was 
then  on  the  confines  of  civilization,  and  had  few  educa- 
tional facilities ;  but  John  was  taught  the  rudiments  of 
learning  by  his  mother,  and,  an  Indian  war  soon  break- 
ing out,  which  forced  the  family  to  Fredericksburg,  he 
had  there  the  advantage  of  a  good  school  for  several 
years.  The  family  returned  to  their  frontier  home  when 
John  was  twelve  years  old,  and  then  he  was  sent  to  an 
advanced  school  at  Staunton,  where  he  remained,  an  apt 


12  JOHN  SEVIER. 

and  ready  but  not  very  industrious  student,  until  he  was 
sixteen' years  of  age.  From  these  few  years  of  tuition  he 
acquired  as  much  of  an  education  as  was  common  to 
young  gentlemen  of  the  period — enough  to  enable  him  in 
after-years  to  be  a  ready  and  effectiye  speaker  and  writer, 
and  to  associate  on  equal  terms  with  the  leading  men  of 
the  country.  But  he  was  always  better  acquainted  with 
men  than  with  books.  Study  was  irksome  to  his  active 
nature,  but  the  knowledge  of  men  came  to  him  by  intui- 
tion. 

Leaving  school  before  he  was  turned  of  seyenteen, 
young  Sevier  struck  out  at  once  in  life  for  himself  by 
marrying  a  wife,  and  laying  out  a  townshij)  about  half  a 
dozen  miles  distant  from  his  father's  plantation.  This 
town,  still  bearing  the  name  he  gave  it,  is  now  the  beau- 
tiful village  of  Newmarket,  in  the  valley  of  the  Shenan- 
doah, about  one  hundred  and  fifty  miles  northwest  from 
Richmond.  Here  young  Sevier  erected  a  log  warehouse 
and  dwelling,  much  in  the  style  of  a  fort,  for  security 
was  the  prime  requisite  in  backwoods  architecture  ;  and 
in  the  warehouse  he  opened  a  store  for  the  vending  of 
dry-goods  and  groceries,  thereby  making  his  town  what 
its  name  indicated,  the  market-center  of  a  wide  agricult- 
ural region. 

Among  the  young  trader's  customers  were  many  of 
the  red  dwellers  of  the  forest,  who  came  to  him  for  pow- 
der and  lead  and  the  long-barreled  rifle.  Their  eyes 
were  dazzled  by  the  bright  array  of  ^'stroud,"  beads,  scar- 
let cloth,  and  looking-glasses,  with  which  the  warehouse 


THE  ACTORS  IN  THIS  HISTORY.  13 

was  adorned,  and  they  longed  to  possess  the  gorgeous 
wonders.  To  their  untutored  virtue,  a  few  discharges  of 
powder  and  sliot  seemed  an  easier  mode  of  payment  than 
a  tiresome  getting  together  of  peltries,  only  to  be  pro- 
cured by  long  and  tedious  hunting.  So,  one  dark  night, 
they  descended  upon  Newmarket,  and  attempted  to  take 
forcible  possession  of  young  Sevier's  business  establish- 
ment. The  young  gentleman  had  only  a  half-dozen  men 
with  him,  but  he  made  such  effectual  resistance  that  the 
baffled  savages  soon  scattered  into  the  adjacent  forest. 
In  the  morning,  a  trail  of  blood  through  the  trodden 
undergrowth  told  the  route  they  had  taken ;  and,  gath- 
ering a  score  of  his  friends  together,  young  Sevier  fol- 
lowed in  pursuit  of  the  marauders.  After  a  toilsome 
march  through  a  pathless  forest,  he  came  up  with  them 
at  their  wigwam  village,  and,  not  stopping  to  count  their 
numbers,  made  so  furious  an  assault  upon  them  that 
they  speedily  fled  in  all  directions.  Their  village  was 
reduced  to  ashes,  and  a  number  of  their  braves  were  left 
unburied  among  the  cinders. 

Thus  did  this  born  soldier,  when  a  youth  of  scarcely 
eighteen,  inaugurate  a  new  system  of  Indian  warfare. 
Thenceforth,  wherever  his  influence  went,  it  was  attack 
and  not  defense  :  not  a  skulking  behind  trees  and  log- 
fortresses  ;  but  an  open  forest,  a  wild  halloo,  and  then 
the  onward  rush  of  the  hurricane  !  It  was  by  such  tac- 
tics that  Sevier  became  the  victor  in  thirty-five  battles, 
and  the  most  renowned  of  Indian  fighters. 

The  Indians  naturally  objected  to  a  bonfire  being 


14  JOHN  SEVIER. 

made  of  one  of  their  villages  at  the  -whim  of  a  white 
stripling,  and  they  attempted  to  enforce  upon  him  their 
law  of  retaliation.  They  descended  again  upon  Xew- 
market  in  largely  augmented  numbers  ;  but  this  the 
young  soldier  had  anticipated,  and  he  was  ready  to  re- 
ceive them.  At  the  head  of  about  a  hundred  hardy 
borderers,  he  put  them  again  to  flight,  and  he  followed 
up  his  success  by  again  invading  the  Indian  country, 
burning  their  villages,  destroying  their  standing  corn, 
and  often  defeating  bodies  of  five  times  his  own  num- 
ber. 

His  exploits  attracted  universal  admiration,  and  in 
time  reached  the  ears  of  Lord  Dunmore,  the  last  royal 
Governor  of  Virginia.  The  Governor  at  once  sought  out 
the  young  volunteer  who  had  thus  taken  off  his  hands 
the  business  of  chastising  the  unruly  savages.  He  ex- 
pected to  find  him  an  uncouth  backwoods  youth,  of 
rustic  ways,  and  the  rude  speech  of  the  border ;  but,  in- 
stead of  this,  he  met  a  young  man  of  refined  aspect,  easy 
and  prepossessing  manners,  and  an  air  of  natural  dignity 
that  bespoke  the  born  gentleman.  The  courtly  English- 
man was  fascinated  with  the  backwoods  youth,  and  took 
him  at  once  into  favor,  showering  upon  him  many  marks 
of  distinction,  and,  among  others,  in  1772,  a  commission 
as  captain  in  the  Virginia  line — the  same  corps  in  which 
Washington  then  held  the  rank  of  colonel. 

Thus,  for  about  half  a  dozen  years,  Sevier  fought 
the  Indians  with  one  hand,  and  with  the  other  dealt 
out  dry -goods  and  groceries  from  his  warehouse  at  New- 


THE  ACTORS  IN  THIS   HISTORY.  15 

market — doing  the  last  so  successfully  that,  by  the  time 
he  was  twenty-six,  he  had  accumulated  what,  for  the 
time  and  i^lace,  was  an  ample  fortune. 

Then,  one  spring  day  in  1772,  he  was  invited  by  one 
of  his  fellow-officers — Captain  Evan  Shelby,  subsequently 
General  Shelby,  of  the  Eevolutionary  army — to  visit  him 
at  his  cattle -farm  of  King's  Meadows  (now  Bristol, 
Tennessee),  on  the  southwestern  border  of  Virginia. 
Sevier  went,  and  there  he  heard  of  a  body  of  adventur- 
ous pioneers,  who,  under  the  lead  of  James  Robertson, 
had,  less  than  two  years  before,  built  their  cabins  at  Wa- 
tauga, on  the  western  slope  of  the  Alleghanies.  Curious 
to  see  this  handful  of  settlers,  who  had  thus  ventured 
upon  the  hunting-grounds  of  twenty  thousand  warlike 
savages,  Sevier  rode  on  to  the  settlement  with  Evan 
Shelby  and  his  son  Isaac,  who  afterward  became  the 
first  Governor  of  Kentucky.  The  visit  brought  him  in 
contact  with  Robertson,  and  that  fixed  his  earthly  des- 
tiny. On  the  instant  he  decided  to  cast  in  his  lot  with 
that  feeble  community  beyond  the  mountains. 

Viewed  in  the  light  of  human  prudence,  this  act  of 
Sevier's  seems  the  extreme  of  folly.  With  wealth  al- 
ready acquired,  with  devoted  friends  who  were  among 
the  most  influential  men  in  Virginia,  and  with  every 
avenue  of  distinction  wide  open  to  him  in  the  older  set- 
tlements, he  had  within  his  reach  every  object  that  usu- 
ally  attracts  the  ambition  of  a  young  man  conscious  of 
commanding  talents.  But  he  deliberately  turned  his 
back  upon  this  brilliant  future,  and  chose  instead  a  life 


16  JOHN  SEVIER. 

remote  from  cultivated  society,  and  amid  an  unexplored 
forest,  where  he  was  sure  to  encounter  hardship  and  pri- 
vation, and  every  peril  that  waits  on  civilized  man  when 
he  comes  in  daily  contact  with  untamed  barbarism.  It 
would  be  idle  to  seek  his  motive  for  thus  throwing  away 
the  most  coveted  objects  of  ordinary  ambition ;  but,  look- 
ing at  him  and  events  through  the  lens  of  a  century,  it  is 
easy  to  see  that  he  had  found  his  appropriate  life-work  ; 
and  that  he  had  been  fitted  for  this  work  by  an  excep- 
tional training — such  a  training  as  probably  came  to  no 
other  cultivated  man  of  his  generation.  There  may 
have  been,  among  the  three  millions  who  then  peopled 
the  Thirteen  Colonies,  some  other  man  who  could  have 
done  what  he  did,  but  no  such  man  came  to  the  sur- 
face of  affairs,  and  hence  it  is  reasonable  to  conclude 
that  he  was  a  '^providential  man,*'  as  have  been  all  other 
men  who  have  executed  great  tasks  in  pivotal  periods  of 
human  history. 

I  have  conversed  with  a  number  of  aged  men  who 
knew  Sevier  well  in  their  boyhood,  and  they  all  agree  in 
describing  him  as  possessed  of  a  personal  magnetism  that 
was  nothing  less  than  wonderful.  It  was  potent  with 
both  his  friends  and  his  enemies  ;  felt  alike  by  the  court- 
ly Dunmore  and  the  untamed  savage.  He  fought  the 
Cherokees  for  more  than  twenty  years,  but  they  never 
came  within  the  sphere  of  his  presence  without  casting 
aside  their  grievances  and  grasping  his  hand  as  their 
brother.  Once,  when  he  had  reduced  their  nation  to  the 
very  verge  of  starvation  by  burning  every  stalk  of  corn 


THE  ACTORS  m  THIS  HISTORY.  17 

and  ear  of  grain  in  their  country,  their  king  wrote  to  the 
Governor  of  North  Carolina,  *^  Send  us  John  Sevier, 
for  he  is  a  good  man,  and  he  will  do  us  right."  Though 
they  recognized  in  him  the  Nemesis  of  their  nation,  they 
conceived  for  him  a  fanatical  admiration,  which  at  last 
deepened  into  a  superstitious  belief  that  he  was  the  spe- 
cial representative  of  the  I2?"VISIBLE.  Fighting  with  him 
was  therefore  a  struggle  with  Destiny,  and  this  thought 
did  more  for  Western  civilization  tlian  a  thousand  Deck- 
ard  rifles. 

His  magnetism  being  thus  potent  with  his  enemies, 
we  can  easily  conceive  how  it  came  to  be  irresistible  with 
his  friends  —  those  people  whom  he  had  now  settled 
among  ;  for  whom  he  poured  out  his  wealth  like  water  ; 
whose  homes  he  watched  over  with  sleepless  vigilance  ; 
and  whom  he  soon  led  in  many  a  desperate  battle, 
crowned  always  with  victory.  This  magnetism  sprang 
from  his  overflowing  kindliness  and  goodness  of  heart, 
and  this  it  was,  with  his  commanding  abilities,  which 
caused  him  to  be  recognized  from  the  outset  as  their 
leader  by  these  people,  and  made  him,  during  a  long  life, 
the  very  soul  of  the  Western  commonwealth. 

In  a  previous  book  *  I  have  tried  to  trace  the  career 
of  this  remarkable  man  from  his  first  appearance  at  Wa- 
tauga to  the  close  of  the  Revolutionary  struggle.  In  the 
present  volume  I  propose  to  take  up  the  narrative  where 

*"Thc  Rear-Guard  of  the  Revolution,"  D.  Appleton   &  Co.,  Xew 
York. 


18  JOHN  SEVIER. 

it  is  there  left  off,  and  to  follow,  as  well  as  I  can,  his 
course  from  the  Peace  of  1783  to  the  end  of  his  life ; 
during  which  period,  opposed  by  North  Carolina  and 
unaided  by  the  General  GoYernment,  he  built  up  a  great 
commonwealth  in  the  very  heart  of  the  Western  wilder- 
ness. 


CHAPTER  II. 

THE   FIRST   SECESSIOl^. 

Betweeist  two  sucli  peoples  as  are  described  in  the 
preceding  chapter,  there  could  be  no  community  of 
feeling ;  and  this  lack  of  sympathy  grew  into  antago- 
nism, when  the  western  settlers  witnessed  the  indiffer- 
ence of  North  Carolina  to  their  security,  her  parsimo- 
nious refusal  of  all  appropriations  for  their  benefit,  and 
the  grasping  eagerness  with  which  she  enforced  upon 
them  taxation,  and  availed  herself  of  the  proceeds  of 
their  unoccupied  lands.  They  had  unwittingly  settled 
upon  her  territory,  and  from  the  outset  had  regarded  her 
as  a  step-mother ;  and  this  she  proved  herself  to  be  by 
exacting  all  of  a  mother's  rights,  and  discharging  none 
of  her  duties.  To  this  antagonism  is  mainly  to  be  attrib- 
uted the  first  secession  which  occurred  in  this  country. 

Like  all  the  Thirteen  Colonies,  North  Carolina  came 
out  of  the  Revolution  not  only  impoverished  but  loaded 
down  with  debt.  She  owed  vast  sums  to  her  soldiers, 
and  also  her  proper  share  of  the  national  obligations. 


20  JOHN  SEVIER. 

whicli  now  amounted,  in  round  figures,  to  forty-two  mill- 
ion dollars,  witli  an  addition  of  about  three  millions  for 
unpaid  interest.  A  considerable  part  of  this  sum  was 
due  to  France,  wliose  government  was  then  asking  for 
some  adjustment  which  would  in  time  provide  for  the 
principal,  and  at  once  secure  the  prompt  payment  of 
the  interest.  France  had  befriended  the  country  in  its 
utmost  need,  and  the  general  conscience  demanded  that 
something  should  be  done  to  satisfy  its  just  claims.  But 
what  could  be  done  with  an  empty  treasury,  and  the  few 
worthless  cannon  and  worn-out  muskets,  which  com- 
prised the  total  resources  of  these  United  States,  then 
just  embarked  on  their  great  career  among  the  nations  ? 
Various  plans  were  proposed  and  expedients  suggested, 
and  among  them  was  one  that  the  individual  States 
should  cede  their  unoccupied  lands  to  the  General  Gov- 
ernment to  create  a  fund  to  meet  the  common  liabilities. 
The  demand  for  such  lands  was  active,  owing  to  a  large 
influx  of  immigration ;  and  it  was  calculated  that  they 
would  speedily  yield  sufficient  avails  to  expunge  the  na- 
tional obligations. 

North  Carolina  at  this  time  held  about  twenty-nine 
million  acres  beyond  the  Alleghanies — all  that  region 
which  is  now  comprised  within  the  great  State  of  Ten- 
nessee. She  had  acquired  this  vast  domain  without  the 
expenditure  of  a  drop  of  blood  or  an  ounce  of  treasure, 
for  all  that  portion  of  the  Henderson  purchase  which  was 
south  of  latitude  36°  30'  she  had  unceremoniously  confis- 
cated on  the  George  III  theory  that  none  but  a  sovereign 


THE  FIRST  SECESSION.  21 

State  has  any  natural  right  to  buy  lands  of  the  Indians  ; 
and  the  remainder,  which  was  not  in  actual  occupation 
by  the  Cherokees,  had  been  bought  or  wrested  from  those 
savages  by  John  Sevier  and  his  riflemen,  who  had  fed, 
clothed,  and  equipped  themselves  without  a  dollar  of  aid 
from  North  Carolina.  As  the  State  contained  about  one 
ninth  of  the  population  of  the  Union,  she  was  in  equity 
bound  for  a  like  proportion  of  the  national  debt ;  and 
now  was  presented  to  her  legislators  the  opportunity  to 
execute  a  brilliant  financial  feat — to  discharge  her  share 
of  this  vast  indebtedness  without  withdrawing  a  dime 
from  her  treasury  or  imposing  a  dollar  of  tax  upon  her 
tax-loathing  people.  This  her  legislators  proceeded  to 
do  by  passing  an  act  in  June,  ~  1784,  which  ceded  the 
whole  of  what  is  now  Tennessee  to  the  General  Govern- 
ment ;  and  this  they  did  without  so  much  as  consulting 
one  of  the  thirty  thousand  or  more  loyal  citizens  who  oc- 
cupied this  territory,  and  had  freely  expended  their  blood 
and  treasure  to  secure  her  independence.  Without  a 
word,  she  thrust  them  ruthlessly  from  her  door,  and  con- 
signed them  to  a  distant  Congress,  which  could  afford 
them  neither  shelter  nor  protection. 

For  Congress  at  this  time  had  none  of  the  powers 
that  are  requisite  for  efficient  government.  The  Union 
was  merely  a  rope  of  sand ;  the  thirteen  States  were 
thirteen  small  republics,  each  one  exercising  nearly  all 
the  functions  of  sovereignty.  The  cementing  principle 
between  them  was  mutual  protection  ;  but  they  had  sepa- 
rate and  antagonistic  interests  that  might  at  any  moment 


22  JOHN  SEVIER. 

rend  them  asunder.  When  threatened  by  a  common 
danger,  they  had  stood  shoulder  to  shoulder  ;  but,  that 
danger  passed,  there  was  little  to  hold  them  together. 
Nor  was  there  any  general  sentiment  of  nationality 
among  the  people.  The  traveler  through  the  country 
met  a  great  many  Virginians,  South  Carolinians,  and 
New-En  glanders,  but  very  few  Americans.  To  Congress 
these  little  republics  had  delegated  a  few  powers,  just 
enouofh  to  entitle  them  to  the  name  of  United  States,  but 
not  enough  to  enable  the  General  Government  to  pre- 
serve order  at  home  or  command  respect  abroad.  Con- 
gress could  contract  debts,  levy  armies,  and  make  agree- 
ments with  foreign  powers  ;  but  it  could  not  collect  an 
impost,  or  force  a  State'  to  observe  a  treaty  or  to  contrib- 
ute a  single  soldier  for  the  common  defense.  It  had  a 
head,  a  body,  and  about  ninety  bodily  members,  but  the 
breath  of  life  was  not  in  it.  It  did  not  even  possess  the 
power  to  protect  itself  from  indignity  and  insult  by  its 
own  soldiery,  as  had  been  shown  a  year  previously,  when, 
in  its  "  own  hired  house  "  at  Philadelphia,  it  was  sur- 
rounded by  two  hundred  and  eighty  mutinous  soldiers, 
clamoring  for  the  pay  which  was  unrighteously  withheld 
from  theuKby  the  thirteen  little  republics.  To  this  inert 
and  powerless  body  North  Carolina  bade  her  over-mount- 
ain citizens  look  for  security  and  protection,  at  the  very 
time  when  they  were  in  daily  danger  from  a  savage 
enemy,  and  when  she  was  thrusting  upon  them  a  host  of 
her  own  Tories— desperate,  lawless  characters,  thieves, 
house-burners,  cut-throats,  and  woman-violators,   whom 


THE  FIRST  SECESSION.  23 

nothing  but  the  strong  arm  of  omnipotent  law  could  hold 
in  civilized  subjection.  Can  it  be  wondered  at  that, 
when  the  tidings  crossed  the  Alleghanies,  it  aroused  a 
universal  feeling  of  indignant  consternation  ? 

News  in  those  days  traveled  slowly.  The  State  capi- 
tal was  more  than  five  hundred  miles  from  Watauga,  and 
the  road  to  it  over  the  mountains  was  in  places  so  steep 
and  rugged  that  none  but  a  backwoods  horseman  would 
attempt  its  passage.  Nearly  thirty  days  were  usually 
consumed  in  the  Journey,  and  thus  it  was  far  into  July 
when  tidings  of  the  cession  act  came  to  the  western 
settlers.  They  had  no  printing-press,  and  so  all  news 
passed  among  them  by  word  of  mouth ;  but  this  flew 
with  the  rapidity  of  lightning.  From  man  to  man,  from 
cabin  to  cabin,  from  hamlet  to  hamlet  it  sped,  and  every- 
where it  went  it  kindled  a  flame  of  angry  excitement. 
With  stern  faces  but  anxious  hearts  they  came  together 
to  deliberate  upon  the  situation.  They  had,  they  said, 
asked  North  Carolina  for  a  Superior  Court,  to  deal  with 
the  criminals  she  was  driving  among  them,  and  for  a 
general  officer  with  power  to  rally  their  militia  for  the 
common  defense  against  the  daily  increasing  danger  from 
the  Creeks  and  Cherokees  ;  and,  while  the  ink  upon  their 
petition  was  scarcely  dry,  she  had  answered  it  by  uncere- 
moniously turning  them  over  to  a  distant  body,  com- 
posed of  men  whose  interests  were  upon  the  seaboard, 
and  who  knew  no  more  of  their  condition  and  necessities 
than  they  did  of  the  geography  of  the  moon— nor  half  so 
much,  if  they  had  chanced  to  listen  to  Professor  John 


24  JOHiT  SEVIER. 

Winthrop,  of  Harvard,  wlio  was  then  the  supreme  author- 
ity on  earthquakes  and  lunar  mountains.  Whenever  be- 
fore did  Watauga  so  much  need  a  strong  government  ? 
It  was  idle  to  say  that  the  settlers  had  hitherto  governed 
and  defended  themselves.  They  had  done  this :  pre- 
served order  at  home  when  every  man  was  law-abiding ; 
subdued  the  Cherokees  when  small  forces  would  do  the 
work ;  and  fed  and  equipped  their  volunteers  when  men 
like  John  Sevier  had  full  granaries  from  which  to  draw 
their  rations.  But  now  a  disorderly  element  was  coming 
among  them,  and  this  element,  driven  out  by  the  set- 
tlers, was  herding  with  their  enemies,  augmenting  their 
strength,  and  increasing  their  hostility.  Larger  armies 
were  now  needed  for  their  protection,  and  Sevier  and 
others  like  him  had  become  so  impoverished  by  frequent 
generosity  that  they  could  no  longer  feed  and  equip  large 
numbers  at  a  moment's  warning.  And,  if  they  could, 
what  power  had  Sevier  to  call  the  men  together  ?  His 
old  companions  would  respond  to  him  promptly  ;  but 
would  the  new-comers  answer  his  summons  with  the 
same  alacrity  ?  Had  they  for  him  a  similar  sentiment  of 
fealty  ?  Would  they  follow  where  he  led  when  the  foe 
was  twenty  to  one  against  them  ?  It  was  not  likely  they 
would,  for  he  had  never  marshaled  them  to  victory ; 
never  carried  them  unscathed  through  the  savage  fire, 
nor  saved  their  homes  from  burning,  and  their  wives  and 
children  from  the  midnight  tomahawk.  He  had  been 
this  people's  law  as  well  as  leader,  and  that  he  would 
continue  to  be  ;  but  with  this  large  influx  of  strange  and 


THE  FIRST  SECESSION.  25 

dangerous  elements  the  time  had  come  when  even  he 
could  not  rule  without  all  the  forms  of  civilized  govern- 
ment. North  Carolina  had  cast  them  off,  but  they 
would  form  a  government  of  their  own,  and  apply  for 
admission  to  the  Union.  With  these  thoughts  stirring 
in  their  minds,  the  settlers  came  together  at  Jonesboro. 

They  were  sober-minded,  judicious  men,  and  they  de- 
termined to  do  nothing  in  haste,  or  without  the  assent  of 
the  whole  body  of  the  people.  Consulting  now  together, 
they  decided  to  recommend  the  meeting  of  a  convention 
of  forty  delegates,  who  should  have  power  to  decide  upon 
the  course  of  action  to  be  taken  in  the  circumstances. 
These  delegates  should  be  elected  from  the  three  counties 
into  which  the  district  had  been  divided,  and  they  should 
not  meet  until  thirty  days  had  passed,  that  they  might 
have  full  time  to  deliberately  consider  the  situation. 

The  delegates  were  elected,  and  they  assembled  in 
convention  at  Jonesboro,  on  the  23d  of  August  follow- 
ing. Among  them  were  John  Sevier,  Charles  Robert- 
son, John  Bean,  Stockley  Donelson,  Judge  Campbell, 
and  others — as  true  patriots  and  as  worthy  men  as  were 
to  be  found  in  the  country ;  and  there  is  no  ques- 
tion that  they  represented  correctly  the  popular  senti- 
ment. They  sat  with  open  doors  and  windows  in  the  log 
court-house,  which— according  to  the  builder's  specifica- 
tions, still  preserved — was  of  '^diamond  corners,  hewn 
down  after  being  built  up,  with  plank  floor,  neatly  laid, 
and  a  justice's  bench,  a  lawyer's  and  clerk's  bar,  and  a 
sheriff's  box  to  sit  in,"  and  was  the  first  seat  of  justice 


26  JOHN  SEVIER. 

erected  beyond  the  Alleghanies.  This  stately  structure 
is  now  crumbled  away,  only  one  solitary  log  remaining, 
which  a  grand-nephew  of  Sevier  has  preserved  with 
*^ pious  care"  by  building  it  into  the  wall  of  a  stable  ! 
"  To  what  base  uses  may  we  come  at  last ! " 

There  was  scarcely  room  within  the  little  building  for 
the  forty  delegates  ;  but  the  outside  audience  suffered  no 
sort  of  inconvenience  from  the  cramped  condition  of 
their  quarters.  They  had  ^^all  out-doors,"  carpeted  with 
a  luxuriant  greensward,  and  roofed  with  wide-branching 
oaks  and  poplars.  Fully  two  thousand  had  come  to- 
gether, mounted  on  fleet  horses,  and  clad  in  linsey 
trousers  and  the  universal  buckskin  hunting-shirt;  for 
the  country  was  aflame  with  excitement,  and  such 
another  gathering  had  not  been  seen  there  since  the 
never-to-be-forgotten  ten  hundred  and  forty  rendez- 
voused at  Sycamore  Shoals,  to  be  led  by  Sevier  and 
Shelby  on  the  long  march  to  King's  Mountain. 

The  convention  organized  with  John  Sevier  as  presi- 
dent, and  then  appointed  a  committee  to  consider  the 
cession  of  the  Territory  to  Congress  by  North  Carolina. 
This  committee  reported  that,  inasmuch  as  North  Caro- 
lina had  thrust  "Watauga  out  into  the  cold,  it  should  at 
once  form  a  State  government,  and  apply  for  admission 
to  the  Union.  No  precedent  existed  which  these  men 
could  follow,  for  Vermont  had  not  yet  been  admitted,  but 
had  been  kept  standing,  hat  in  hand,  at  the  door  of  Con- 
gress since  1776.  This  was  poor  encouragement  for  Wa- 
tauga, but  the  report  was  uiianimously  adopted  by  the 


THE  FIRST  SECESSION.  27 

convention,  and  then  read  from  the  court-house  steps  to 
the  outside  auditory,  not  all  of  whom  could  hear  through 
the  open  door  and  windows.  It  was  received  with  shouts 
that  made  the  woods  ring,  and  therefore  may  fairly  be 
considered  the  voice  of  the  people.  The  convention 
then  adjourned,  after  recommending  that  the  people 
should  elect  fifteen  deputies  to  decide  upon  a  Constitu- 
tion, and  organize  a  government  for  the  new  State. 

This  election  took  place  on  the  14th  of  December, 
but  before  it  occurred  the  people  over  the  mountains 
heard  of  the  steps  being  taken  by  Watauga  for  self- 
government.  The  North  Carolina  Legislature  came  to- 
gether in  November,  and  it  made  haste — at  this  dis- 
tance of  time,  it  appears  an  unseemly  and  undignified 
haste — to  repeal  the  act  of  the  previous  session.  It  also 
gave  to  the  Watauga  settlers  a  Superior  Court,  having 
jurisdiction  over  capital  offenses ;  and  it  formed  the 
militia  into  a  brigade,  giving  the  command  to  John 
Sevier  as  brigadier-general.  In  other  words,  the  horse 
being  stolen,  these  sapient  legislators  locked  the  stable- 
door.  Eequests  long  refused  they  suddenly  granted,  and 
granted  so  promptly  as  to  show  that  they  were  actuated 
by  a  reluctance  to  losing  their  grip  upon  the  western 
counties,  and  not  by  any  desire  to  promote  their  welfare 
and  security.  This  was  apparent  to  the  dullest  intel- 
lect, and  it  was  also  seen  that  this  action  conveyed  no 
guarantee  of  any  favorable  legislation  that  might  be 
called  for  by  the  exigencies  of  the  future.  The  conces- 
sions came  too  late.     Had  they  come  earlier,  they  would 


28  JOHN  SEVIER. 

have  met  general  acceptance  ;  but  now  they  only  served 
to  deepen  into  contempt  the  dissatisfaction  that  had  been 
long  growing  up  toward  the  older  counties.  With  one 
solitary  exception,  this  was  probably  the  feeling  at  this 
time  of  every  settler  upon  the  Watauga  and  Holston. 

That  one  exception  was  John  Sevier.  He  had  been  a 
member  of  the  convention  that  formed  the  Constitution 
of  North  Carolina,  and  had  himself  caused  the  insertion 
in  its  Declaration  of  Eights  of  a  provision  for  the  crea- 
tion of  a  separate  State  beyond  the  Alleghanies.  This 
fact  shows  that  he  thus  early  contemplated  the  creation 
of  an  independent  commonwealth  ;  but  he  now  saw  that 
the  time  for  it  had  not  yet  arrived.  The  Watauga  Dis- 
trict was  not  yet  strong  enough  in  numbers  and  wealth 
to  properly  sustain  a  separate  existence.  The  concessions 
which  had  been  granted  by  North  Carolina  would  enable 
the  settlers  to  restrain  the  disorderly  among  them,  and  to 
promptly  meet  their  enemies  the  Cherokees.  These  were 
the  evils  of  the  moment,  and,  these  provided  for,  Sevier 
thought  it  wisdom  to  let  things  go  on  in  their  accus- 
tomed way.  He  wrote  to  his  friend  Colonel  Kennedy, 
who  had  been  a  member  of  the  convention,  under  date  of 

'' 2'IJanuary,  1185. 

"  Dear  CoLOiTEL  :  I  have  just  received  certain  infor- 
mation from  Colonel  Martin  that  the  first  thing  the  As- 
sembly of  North  Carolina  did  was  to  repeal  the  Cession 
Bill,  and  to  form  this  part  of  the  country  into  a  separate 
district,  by  name  of  Washington  District,  which  I  have 


THE  FIRST  SECESSION.  29 

the  honor  to  command,  as  General.  I  conclude  this 
step  will  satisfy  the  people  with  the  Old  State,  and 
we  shall  pursue  no  further  measures  as  to  a  new 
State.  David  Campbell,  Esq.,  is  appointed  one  of 
our  judges.' ' 

Sevier  also  wrote  to  prominent  citizens  of  Greene 
County,  advising  them  to  take  no  further  action  in  re- 
spect to  a  new  government,  and  he  used  his  personal 
influence  to  that  end  in  his  own  county  of  Washington. 
But  revolutions,  it  is  said,  never  go  backward.  The 
elections  were  held  in  the  three  counties  at  the  appointed 
time  for  the  fifteen  deputies  who  were  to  form  the  new 
government.  The  polls  for  Washington  County  were 
opened  at  Jonesboro,  and,  it  being  the  most  populous 
district,  a  large  throng  gathered  there  to  participate 
in  the  election.  Sevier  addressed  them,  stating  what 
had  been  done  by  the  Legislature  of  North  Carolina,  and 
advising  that  no  further  steps  should  be  taken  toward 
erecting  a  separate  government.  These  men  were  ac- 
customed to  follow  his  lead  almost  blindly,  and  they 
would  have  done  so  on  this  occasion  had  there  not  ''hap- 
pened to  be  there  a  man  of  Belial,  whose  name  was  She- 
ba,  the  son  of  Bichri,"  who  said  :  ''We  have  no  part 
with  North  Carolina.  Every  man  to  his  tent,  0 
Israel!" 

This  man  was  one  of  those  restless  spirits  who  seem 
never  entirely  happy  unless  they  are  in  the  midst  of 
strife  and  discord.     Profane,  foul-mouthed,  turbulent. 


30  JOHN  SEVIER. 

and  of  an  irascible,  domineering  temper,  he  lacked  every 
quality  of  a  gentleman  except  personal  courage,  and  that 
nameless  something  which  comes  down  in  a  man's  veins 
from  an  honorable  ancestry.  He  had  the  ambition  but 
not  the  ability  to  lead,  and  he  could  not  understand  why 
men  should  give  to  Sevier  such  unquestioning  allegiance. 
He  did  not  know  that  there  is  a  '*  divine  right "  in  com- 
manding talents,  exercised  unselfishly  in  a  people's  serv- 
ice. He  was  greedy  for  office,  and  a  born  demagogue, 
and  he  had  the  natural  jealousy  of  Sevier  that  men  of 
low  and  yet  ambitious  minds  feel  for  their  moral  and  in- 
tellectual superiors.  This  feeling  was  deepened  into  en- 
mity when  he  saw  himself  shut  out  from  positions  to 
which  he  felt  entitled  by  his  own  abilities,  and  the  promi- 
nence of  his  family ;  for  he  was  of  good  lineage,  and 
bore  a  name  that  is  honorably  mentioned  in  Southwest- 
ern history.  A  younger  brother,  named  Jonathan  Tipton, 
had  been  second  in  command  to  Sevier  at  King's  Mount- 
ain, and  was  badly  wounded  at  Boyd's  Creek.  Two 
others  of  his  family  have  given  names  to  counties  in  Ten- 
nessee and  Indiana.  One  of  the  next  generation  emi- 
grated to  the  latter  State,  and,  when  but  a  stripling,  was 
an  ensign  at  the  battle  of  Tippecanoe.  Of  him  it  is  re- 
lated that,  in  the  heat  of  the  action.  General  Harrison, 
riding  by,  inquired  of  the  boy,  whose  features  were  so 
begrimed  with  blood  and  powder  that  he  could  not  be 
recognized,  "  Young  man,  where  is  your  colonel  ? " 
"Dead,  sir,"  was  the  answer.  "Your  major,  then?" 
"  Dead,  sir."    "  Your  captain  ?  "    "  Dead,  sir."    "  Then 


THE  FIRST  SECESSION.  31 

who  commands   this   regiment?"     *'I  do,  sir— Ensign 
Tipton,  Fourth  Indiana." 

This  black  sheep  of  the  flock — Sheba,  the  son  of  Bich- 
ri — saw  now  that  the  sentiment  of  the  whole  commu- 
nity was  unmistakably  opposed  to  any  further  connection 
with  North  Carolina,  and  quickly  he  seized  upon  the 
opportunity  to  step  into  the  leadership  which  seemed 
about  to  be  vacated  by  Sevier.  In  an  impassioned  ha- 
rangue he  urged  the  people  to  go  on  with  the  election. 
They  did  so  ;  but  they  did  not  throw  their  beloved  Koli- 
chucky  Jack  overboard.  Whether  he  would  or  not,  they 
were  determined  that  Sevier  should  go  with  them.  They 
elected  him  one  of  the  delegates  to  organize  the  State 
government ;  but,  unfortunately,  they  joined  with  him 
this  same  John  Tipton  and  the  Rev.  Samuel  Houston- 
men  of  totally  opposite  characters,  but  destined,  by  act- 
ing together,  to  be  largely  instrumental  in  overthrowing 
the  Watauga  commonwealth. 

And  now  Sevier  made  the  one  mistake  of  his  lifetime 
— ^the  one  to  which  may  be  traced  all  his  subsequent  mis- 
fortunes. Seeing  that  he  could  not  stem  the  current,  he 
allowed  himself  to  be  borne  along  with  it.  Had  he  been 
Robertson,  he  would  have  quietly  stepped  aside,  and  let 
the  torrent  waste  itself  in  its  own  wild  fury.  The  force 
of  their  passion  having  once  spent  itself,  these  people 
would  have  returned  to  him  and  to  reason.  In  the  ab- 
sence of  any  express  statement  from  Sevier,  it  is  difficult 
to  determine  why  he  did  not  pursue  this  course,  for  he 
did  not  lack  the  moral  courage  to  stand  alone,  and  he 


32  JOHN  SEVIER. 

must  have  seen  that  in  the  changed  attitude  of  North 
Carolina  any  further  action  would  be  actual  rebellion. 
An  easy  way  to  account  for  his  course  would  be  to  say 
that,  seeing  power  about  to  slip  away  from  him,  he 
promptly  changed  front  and  went  with  the  multitude  in 
order  to  retain  his  ascendency  over  them.  But  we  are 
to  judge  of  character  not  by  one  act,  but  by  a  whole  life, 
and  during  his  entire  career  Sevier  never  sought  office. 
It  was  always  thrust  upon  him  ;  and  for  nearly  ten  years 
he  persistently  set  Kobertson — a  man  much  inferior  to 
him  in  ability — above  himself  in  the  councils  of  Watau- 
ga. He  was  pre-eminently  disinterested  and  unambitious 
— one  of  the  least  self-seeking  of  those  great  men  to 
whom  the  world  owes  the  establishment  of  civil  and  re- 
ligious freedom  in  America.  And,  had  Sevier  been  am- 
bitious, he  must  have  known  that  he  was  in  no  danger  of 
permanently  losing  his  control  over  the  men  of  Watauga, 
for  his  ascendency  was  founded  in  the  very  nature  of 
things.  From  the  first  they  had  recognized  in  him 
the  qualities  that  made  him  their  natural  leader.  They 
knew  that  he,  and  only  he,  could  carry  them  safely 
through  the  dangers  by  which  they  were  environed,  and 
that  deserting  him  would  be  throwing  overboard  their 
pilot  when  the  ship  was  riding  storm-vexed  amid  the 
breakers.  Moreover,  their  feeling  for  him  forbade  any 
separation.  They  had  for  him  a  personal  attachment, 
an  almost  blind  devotion,  which  has  seldom  been  accord- 
ed to  any  popular  leader.  I  know  of  nothing  like  it  in 
American  history.    Washington  and  Jackson  were  greatly 


THE   FIRST   SECESSION.  33 

beloved,  but  their  popularity  waxed  and  waned,  while 
that  of  Sevier  never  knew  a  moment's  diminution.  For 
forty-three  years,  alike  when  he  was  at  the  head  of  a 
great  State,  and  when,  a  hunted  outlaw,  fifteen  hundred 
armed  men  sjirang  spontaneously  to  his  rescue,  he  was 
tlie  idol  of  the  frontier  people.  Of  all  this  he  must  have 
been  conscious,  and,  therefore,  we  have  to  seek  some 
other  motive  for  his  present  action  tlian  a  fear  of  losing 
his  hold  on  power  and  popular  favor. 

Doubtless  Sevier  felt  contempt  for  the  ruling  cle- 
ment in  Xorth  Carolina,  and  disgust  at  the  uniformly 
selfish  and  now  vacillating  policy  of  its  Legislature ; 
and  he  may  have  thought  that  a  firm  stand  would  bring 
about  the  separation  so  much  desired  by  the  "Watauga 
settlers.  This  idea  may  have  had  weight  with  him  ;  but 
still  I  think  the  main  reason  for  his  course  is  to  be  found 
in  his  strong  sympathy  with  the  Watauga  people.  They 
were  to  him  as  the  ^"'bone  of  his  bone  and  the.  flesh  of 
his  flesh  "  ;  for  twelve  years  he  had  shared  with  them 
storm  and  sunshine,  peril  and  victory ;  and  now,  when 
he  saw  them  encompassed  with  dangers  from  which  only 
he  could  extricate  them,  and  heading  recklessly  upon  a 
dangerous  coast,  begirt  with  sunken  rocks  and  treacher- 
ous quicksands,  he  determined  to  stand  by  the  ship  and 
guide  it,  if  possible,  into  a  secure  haven  ;  and,  if  that 
were  not  possible,  then  to  go  down  in  the  wreck  with 
those  he  loved  and  who  so  loved  him.  No  other  sup- 
position seems  consistent  with  his  character,  or  sufficient 
to  account  for  his  now  going  against  the  convictions  of 


34:  JOHN   SEVIER. 

his  cool  judgment,  as  expressed  in  his  letter  to  Colonel 
Kennedy,  and  freely  announced  by  him  to  the  people, 
prior  to  the  election  of  the  deputies. 

The  deputies  came  together,  organized  a  State  gov- 
ernment, and  then  adjourned,  after  calling,  for  the  ensu- 
ing November,  another  convention  to  frame  and  adopt  a 
permanent  Constitution.  A  Legislature  was  then  chosen, 
which  unanimously  elected  John  Sevier  as  Governor ; 
and  then  the  wheels  of  the  new  State  were  set  in  opera- 
tion. John  Tipton's  intemperate  advocacy  of  the  new 
order  of  things  had  failed  to  convince  the  people  that  he 
would  fitly  grace  an  official  position.  Consequently,  he 
was  left  out  in  the  cold,  and  denied  even  so  much  as  a 
seat  in  the  lower  branch  of  the  Legislature.  A  like  fate 
befell  one  Joseph  Martin,  another  blatant  denouncer  of 
North  Carolina.  These  apparently  insignificant  events 
had  important  consequences,  as  will  appear  further  on  in 
this  narrative. 

Sevier  had  hoped  to  guide  the  ship  in  safety  through 
the  breakers ;  but  could  mortal  hand  do  this,  when  she 
was  storm-beaten  from  both  east  and  west,  and  her  own 
crew  was  in  mutiny  ? 


CHAPTER  III. 

THE   ABORTIVE   COMMONWEALTH. 

The  territory  that  was  termed  in  legislative  docu- 
ments ^'Washington  District"  comj^rised  the  whole  of 
what  IS  now  Tennessee,  except  the  country  around  Nash- 
ville, at  which  remote  outpost  of  civilization  the  heroic 
Eobertson  was  at  this  time  holding  his  ground  against  a 
horde^  of  savage  enemies.  But  the  larger  portion  of  this 
vast  region  had  in  1784  no  other  inhabitants  than  wild 
beasts  and  wilder  men,  and  the  white  settlements  in  it 
were  restricted  to  an  irregular  parallelogram,  bordering 
upon  the  Holston,  Watauga,  and  Kolichucky,  and  ex- 
tending southwesterly  from  the  Virginia  line  at  King's 
Meadows  (now  Bristol)  to  Southwest  Point,  near  the 
confluence  of  the  Clinch  and  Tennessee  Rivers.  And  this 
settled  district  was  but  thinly  peopled.  It  contained  no 
large  towns,  and  but  few  villages.  Knoxville  was  not 
yet  in  existence.  Greeneville  was  little  more  than  a  log 
court-house  and  a  log  tavern  ;  and  Jonesboro  an  insig- 
nificant hamlet  of  some  fifty  or  sixty  log  cabins,  clus- 
tered around  the  unpretending  temple  of  justice  .which 
has  been  mentioned.    The  people  dwelt  mostly  in  isolated 


36  JOm^  SEVIEPw. 

farm-houses,  in  the  midst  of  wide  forests,  or  in  close 
vicinity  to  log  '^  stations  " — block-houses  encompassed 
with  palisades,  in  which  were  a  few  cabins  to  house  the 
women  and  children  in  case  of  a  hostile  invasion  from 
the  Indians.  Scattered  as  they  were,  it  is  wonderful 
with  what  speed,  the  men  came  together  on  occasions  of 
sudden  danger,  either  to  Jonesboro  or  to  the  home  of  Se- 
vier on  the  ISTolichucky,  the  usual  i^laces  of  rendezvous. 
As  many  as  two  thousand  are  known  to  have  assembled 
within  twenty-four  hours  after  Sevier's  couriers  had 
sounded  the  alarm  through  the  territory — so  perfect  was 
his  system  for  conveying  intelligence,  and  so  fleet  were 
the  animals  bestrode  by  those  tireless  riders.  The  total 
population  of  the  district  (exclusive  of  the  Cumberland 
settlements)  at  this  time  can  not  be  given  with  decided 
accuracy,  but,  estimating  it  by  the  force  with  which 
Sevier  soon  afterward  offered  to  march  to  the  aid  of 
Georgia,  it  could  not  have  been  far  from  twenty-five 
thousand.  A  handful,  truly,  to  set  up  an  independent 
existence,  when  surrounded  by  hostile  savages,  and  op- 
posed by  the  great  State  which  then  ranked  as  the  third 
in  the  Union ! 

It  was  no  easy  task  that  Sevier  assumed  Vv'hen,  on  the 
1st  of  March,  1785,  he  took  oath  to  well  and  truly  ad- 
minister for  three  years  the  office  of  Governor  of  the  new 
State  of  Franklin.  He  had  to  evolve  order  from  rank 
disorder,  and  to  erect  a  stable  government  with  the  most 
unstable  materials.  He  had  to  create  a  currency  when 
even  the  wealthy  had  not  enough  money  to  pay   their 


THE   ABORTIVE   COMMONWEALTH.  37 

taxes,  and  the  North  Carolina  ^^  promises  to  pay  "  were 
not  worth  one  cent  on  a  dollar.  He  had  to  provide 
facilities  for  education,  when  nothing  above  a  cross-road 
school-house  existed  in  the  country.  lie  had  to  establish 
courts  and  enforce  law,  wiien  a  lawless  element,  pouring 
in  on  the  heels  of  the  Revolution,  had  flooded  every  set- 
tlement, and  was  stalking  unchecked  upon  every  high- 
way. And  he  had  to  organize  and  discipline  a  militia, 
with  which  to  meet  the  ten  thousand  Creeks  and  Chero- 
kees,  who,  armed  and  backed  by  Spain,  were  preparing 
to  swoop  down  upon  the  territory.  In  short,  he  had  to 
enforce  law,  establish  good  order,  and  foil  the  murderous 
designs  of  a  great  European  power,  when  he  was  himself 
acting  contrary  to  law,  and  in  defiance  of  the  constituted 
authorities  of  the  country.  It  was  a  herculean  task,  but 
in  an  incredibly  short  period,  and  without  the  loss  of  a 
single  life,  Sevier  accomplished  it ;  and,  in  doing  so,  he 
displayed  a  fertility  of  resource  and  a  wise  statesman- 
ship that  entitle  him  to  rank  very  high  as  an  adminis- 
trator ;  and  we  are  forced  to  conclude  that,  if  his  course 
had  been  obstructed  by  none  but  outside  foes,  he  would 
have  then  established  a  stable  government. 

Within  sixty  days  from  the  coming  together  of  his 
Legislature,  Sevier  had  reduced  internal  affairs  to  a 
satisfactory  order.  He  at  once  established  a  Superior 
Court,  with  David  Campbell  as  chief-justice — the  same 
who  had  been  named  for  that  office  by  North  Carolina  ; 
and  he  reorganized  the  militia — now  over  four  thou- 
sand strong — placing  over  it  William  Cocke  and  Daniel 


38  JOHN  SEVIER. 

Kennedy  as  brigadier-generals,  he  himself  being  com- 
mander-in-chief. Having  thus  provided  for  the  enforce- 
ment of  law  and  the  defense  of  the  country,  Sevier 
directed  the  attention  of  his  Legislature  to  subjects  of 
less  pressing  importance.  At  his  suggestion  it  incorpo- 
rated an  institution  of  higher  education,  to  be  presided 
over  by  Parson  Doak,  the  pioneer  preacher.  It  was 
named  Martin  Academy,  in  compliment  to  the  Governor 
of  North  Carolina,  but  its  title  was  subsequently  changed 
to  Washington  College.  It  was  the  first  institution  for 
classical  learning  west  of  the  Alleghanies.  He  also 
caused  acts  to  be  passed  levying  a  tax  for  the  support  of 
the  government ;  ^*^  to  determine  the  value  of  such  gold 
and  silver  coin"  as  was  in  circulation  ;  and  '^to  ascertain 
the  salaries"  to  be  allowed  the  Governor  and  other  State 
officials.  These  were  fixed  at  the  following  magnificent 
sums :  For  the  Governor,  £200 ;  for  the  Judge  of  the 
Superior  Court,  £150 ;  for  the  Secretary  of  State,  £25 
and  the  fees  of  his  office ;  and  members  of  the  Legisla- 
ture were  to  receive  four  shillings  per  diem.  The  appoint- 
ment of  all  the  minor  officials  was  left  in  the  hands  of 
the  Governor,  and  he  continued  in  office  all  those  who 
held  commissions  under  North  Carolina.  Thus  the 
passage  from  the  old  to  the  new  State  did  violence  to  no 
one,  and  produced  no  convulsion.  There  was,  in  fact, 
no  alteration  in  form  ;  but  there  was  a  total  change  in 
spirit — an  infusion  of  life  into  a  lifeless  machinery, 
which  made  it  at  once  a  conservator  of  order  and  a 
terror  to  evil-doers. 


THE  ABORTIVE   COMMONWEALTH.  39 

But  no  civil  government  has  existed  within  historic 
times  without  a  circulating  medium,  and  some  standard 
of  value  by  which  to  regulate  exchanges.  Among  civil- 
ized nations  the  standard  is  gold  and  silver,  but  the  North 
American  Indians  regarded  wampum  as  money,  and 
Pontiac  issued  letters  of  credit  upon  birch-bark,  which 
were  redeemed  by  the  French  in  hard  currency.  But 
gold  and  silver  are  sometimes  scarce  commodities  even  in 
civilized  communities  ;  and  at  such  times,  while  they 
have  remained  the  measure  of  value,  other  articles  have 
of  necessity  been  resorted  to  as  a  circulating  medium. 
In  1G31  it  was  enacted  in  Massachusetts  that  corn  at  cur- 
rent prices  should  be  received  in  payment  of  debts,  and 
in  1656  "musket-balls,  full  bore,"  were  made  a  legal  ten- 
der at  a  farthing  apiece.  As  late  there  as  1680  the  town 
of  Hingham  paid  its  taxes  in  milk-pails;  in  South  Caro- 
lina at  about  the  same  period  the  currency  was  corn,  and 
in  North  Carolina  as  late  as  1738  it  was  hides,  tallow,  and 
furs  ;  while  in  Maryland  and  Virginia  for  more  than  a 
century  the  standard  of  value,  as  well  as  the  circulating 
medium,  was  tobacco.  In  the  latter  State  it  was  enacted 
that  the  marshal  should  be  paid,  for  "laying  by  the  heels," 
five  pounds  of  tobacco;  "for  duckings,"  ten  pounds; 
"for  pillory,"  ten  pounds  ;  and  during  a  long  period  the 
market  value  of  a  wife — good  or  bad — ruled  in  that  col- 
ony with  wonderful  regularity  at  one  hundred  and  fifty 
pounds.  At  the  time  of  the  Revolution  the  currency  of 
nearly  all  the  colonies  was  poorly  lithographed  "prom- 
ises to   pay,"  printed   on   dingy  paper,    by   which    the 


40  JOHN   SEVIER. 

government  treasurer  did  not  so  much  as  agree  to  pay 
the  sum  that  was  called  for  by  the  '^shinplaster."  One 
of  these,  issued  by  North  Carolina,  is  now  before  me.  It 
reads  simply  :  ''  N.  Carolina  Currency.  Half  a  Dollar. 
By  authority  of  Congress  at  Halifax,  April,  1776,"  and 
in  one  corner  are  the  figures  of  a  man  and  a  dog,  the 
man  discharging  a  leyeled  musket,  with  the  motto,  '*  Hit 
or  miss."  The  thing  certainly  ^*hit"  somebody,  or  it 
would  not  now  be  in  existence  ;  but  it  as  certainly  made 
a ''miss,"  if  it  ever  attempted  to  draw  its  face  value 
from  the  treasury  of  Korth  Carolina. 

It  may  be  questioned  if  Sevier,  or  any  of  his  legis- 
lators, ever  so  much  as  heard  of  the  musket-ball  and 
milk-pail  currency  of  Massachusetts,  or  of  the  Virginia 
mothers  who,  perhaps,  were  dear  bargains  at  one  hun- 
dred and  fifty  pounds  of  tobacco.  These  men  had  prob- 
ably none  of  these  precedents  before  them ;  but,  there 
being  next  to  no  gold  or  silver  in  Franklin,  they  felt 
the  need  of  some  other  circulating  medium,  and  they 
adopted  one  which  had  intrinsic  value,  inasmuch  as  it 
could  be  either  worn  or  eaten,  and  was,  moreover,  within 
the  reach  of  every  one  who  had  a  strong  arm  and  a  good 
rifle.  In  the  law  levying  a  tax  for  the  support  of  the 
government,  they  inserted  this  clause  : 

'^  Be  it  enacted,  That  it  shall  and  may  be  lawful  for 
the  aforesaid  land-tax,  and  all  free  polls,  to  be  paid  in  the 
following  manner  :  Good  flax  linen,  ten  hundred,  at  three 
shillings  and  sixpence  per  yard ;  nine  hundred,  at  three 
shillings ;  eight  hundred,  two  shillings  and  ninepence  ; 


THE  ABORTIVE   COMMONWEALTH.  41 

seven  hundred,  two  shillings  and  sixpence  ;  six  hundred, 
two  shillings  ;  tow  linen,  one  shilling  and  ninepence ; 
linscy,  three  shillings,  and  woolen  and  cotton  linsey,  three 
shillings  and  sixpence  per  yard  ;  good  clean  beaver-skin, 
six  shillings;  cased  otter-skins,  six  shillings;  uncased 
ditto,  five  shillings  ;  raccoon  and  fox  skins,  one  shilling 
and  threepence  ;  woolen  cloth,  at  ten  shillings  per  yard  ; 
bacon,  well  cured,  sixpence  per  pound  ;  good,  clean  tal- 
low, sixpence  per  pound  ;  good,  clean  beeswax,  one 
shilling  per  pound  ;  good  distilled  rye  whisky,  at  two 
shillings  and  sixpence  per  gallon  ;  good  peach  or  apple 
brandy,  at  three  shillings  per  gallon  ;  good  country-made 
sugar,  at  one  shilling  per  pound  ;  deer-skins,  the  pattern, 
six  shillings  ;  good,  neat,  and  well-managed  tobacco,  fit 
to  be  prized,  that  may  pass  inspection,  the  hundred,  fif- 
teen siiillings,  and  so  on  in  proportion  for  a  greater  or 
less  quantity." 

'•And  all  the  salaries  and  allowances  hereby  made 
shall  be  paid  by  any  treasurer,  sheriff,  or  collector  of  pub- 
lic taxes,  to  any  person  entitled  to  the  same,  to  be  paid  in 
specific  articles  as  collected,  and  at  the  rates  allowed  by 
the  State  for  the  same  ;  or  in  current  money  of  the  State 
of  Franklin." 

It  will  be  noticed  that  the  closing  paragraph  provides 
that  taxes  might  be  paid  in  '^  current  money  of  the  State 
of  Franklin,"  which  shows  that  this  '^  coon-skin  cur- 
rency " — as  it  was  termed — w^as  merely  a  temporary  ex- 
pedient, designed  for  the  present  relief  of  tax-payers  ; 
and  that  Sevier  looked  forward  to  the  possession  of  a 
more  civilized  circulating  medium.  This  the  State  soon 
had — thirty  thousand  dollars,  in  silver,  issued  from  the 
mint  of  Charles  Robertson — but,  nevertheless,  the  articles 


42  JOH^r  SEVIER. 

enumerated  did  for  a  time  pass  current  as  money.  It  was 
at  first  confidently  asserted  that  this  currency  could  not 
be  counterfeited.  But  in  this  its  advocates  were  mistaken. 
It  was  mostly  of  skins,  which  passed  from  hand  to  hand 
in  bundles  or  bales,  from  the  ends  of  which  the  caudal 
appendages  were  allowed  to  protrude,  to  designate  the 
species  of  the  animal.  Before  long,  acute  financiers  af- 
fixed the  tail  of  the  otter  to  the  skin  of  the  fox  and  the 
raccoon,  and  thus  got  the  better  of  the  receiver  in  the 
sum  of  four  shillings  and  ninepence  upon  each   peltry. 

The  rapidity  with  which  the  above-named  acts  were 
passed  shows  not  only  great  unanimity  among  the  legis- 
lators, but  the  remarkable  ascendency  which  Sevier  had 
over  the  frontier  people.  His  word  was  literally  their 
law,  and  their  absolute  devotion  to  him  was  what  had 
enabled  Eim  to  conquer  his  greatly  superior  savage  ene- 
mies. Now,  with  a  strong  militia  organized  and  em- 
bodied, he  had  no  fear  of  the  Creeks  and  Cherokees  ; 
but  he  preferred  peace  to  war,  and,  when  internal  affairs 
were  once  set  in  order,  he  lost  no  time  in  dispatching 
messengers  to  the  Indian  capital,  inviting  the  principal 
chieftains  to  a  conference,  to  arrange  terms  on  which 
the  two  races  might  live  together  in  "perpetual 
amity." 

In  doing  this,  the  new  State  was  about  to  exercise  one 
of  the  highest  functions  of  sovereignty ;  but  it  was  no 
more  than  had  been  done  by  nearly  every  one  of  the 
Thirteen  Colonies.  They  had  now  delegated  the  treaty- 
making  power   to   Congress,  but  at  that  very  moment 


THE  ABORTIVE   COMMONWEALTEI.  43 

North  Carolina  was  arranging  to  hold  a  treaty  with  these 
same  Indians.  Sevier  had  no  confidence  in  the  ability  of 
its  present  Governor  to  secure  from  them  terms  that  would 
be  advantageous  to  the  Watauga  settlers,  and  he  very 
naturally  thought  that  what  would  be  lawful  for  North 
Carolina  could  hardly  be  deemed  unlawful  for  Franklin. 
But,  lawful  or  unlawful,  some  action  had  to  be  taken  at 
once,  for  the  attitude  of  the  Cherokees  threatened  imme- 
diate hostilities.  It  was  better  to  incur  the  displeasure 
of  Congress  than  to  invite  the  midnight  torch  and  toma- 
hawk to  every  settler's  dwelling.  A  frank  explanation 
might  appease  the  wounded  dignity  of  the  Central  Gov- 
ernment ;  but  no  apology  would  restore  wasted  fields 
and  burned  farm-houses,  or  gather  up  the  blood  that 
might  be  spilled  in  a  conflict  with  the  savages.  It  was 
these  considerations  that  now  induced  Sevier  to  make 
overtures  of  peace  to  the  Cherokees. 

The  Creeks  were  in  secret  league  with  Spain  for  the 
extermination  of  the  settlers,  and  their  allies,  the  Chero- 
kees, had  been  in  a  chronic  state  of  dissatisfaction  since 
1782,  in  consequence  of  the  locating  of  the  whites  upon 
lands  south  of  the  French  Broad  and  Ilolston  Rivers, 
which  had  never  been  formally  ceded  to  North  Carolina. 
Their  king,  Old  Tassel,  the  wary  but  wise  and  pacific 
successor  to  Oconostota,  had  addressed  frequent  protests 
to  the  Governor  of  North  Carolina  against  these  en- 
croachments ;  but  they  had  been  practically  unheeded, 
though  his  Excellency,  as  far  back  as  February  11,  1782, 
had  written  to   Sevier  :  ''  Draw  forth  a  body  of  your 


44:  JOHN  SEVIER. 

militia  on  horseback,  pull  down  their  cabins,  and  drive 
them  off,  laying  aside  every  consideration  of  their  en- 
treaties to  the  contrary."  Sevier  had  not  laid  aside  these 
considerations,  for  some  of  the  encroaching  settlers  were 
his  old  companions  in  arms,  who  had  fought  by  his  side 
at  King's  Mountain,  and,  time  and  again,  protected  the 
settlements  from  the  midnight  raids  of  these  same  sav- 
ages. Though  an  officer  of  North  Carolina,  he  had  given 
little  heed  to  the  Governor's  arbitrary  command.  He 
had  not  driven  the  people  off,  but  had  dissuaded  them 
from  any  further  encroachments,  and  given  assurance  to 
Old  Tassel  that  none  would  be  permitted.  But  this, 
though  the  settlers  were  some  miles  distant  from  the 
Indian  hunting-grounds,  did  not  satisfy  the  Cherokees, 
who  rightly  regarded  every  forward  movement  of  the 
whites  as  merely  another  step  toward  their  own  final  ex- 
pulsion from  the  country. 

This  dissatisfaction  among  the  Indians  had  been  but 
recenth^  inflamed  to  the  pitch  of  hostile  action  by  the 
unfortunate  killing  of  Untoola,  of  Citico,  one  of  their 
principal  warriors,  by  Major  James  Hubbard,  of  the  Wa- 
tauga riflemen.  The  evidence  was  that  the  killing  was 
entirely  justifiable,  being  done  strictly  in  self-defense  ; 
but  Hubbard  was  known  among  the  Cherokees  to  be  the 
implacable  enemy  of  their  race  and  nation.  His  whole 
family  had  been  remorselessly  butchered  by  the  Shawnees 
in  Virginia,  and,  ever  since,  the  one  business  of  his  life 
had  been  the  slaughter  of  Indians.  Though  but  a  young 
man,  he  was  reputed  to  have  killed  more  Cherokees  than 


THE   ABORTIVE   COMMOXWEALXn.  45 

any  two  meu  upon  the  border ;  and,  inflamed  by  a  spirit 
of  vengeance,  he  did  not  always  wait  for  what  would  be 
deemed  justifiable  provocation.  Knowing  this,  the  Clier- 
okees  had  no  difficulty  in  believing  that  he  was  the  ag- 
gressor in  the  rencounter  which  had  resulted  in  the  death 
of  Untoola.  Revenge — blood  for  blood — was  with  them 
a  religious  principle,  and  the  whole  nation  now  cried  out 
for  vengeance  upon  the  slayer.  The  infuriated  braves 
were  only  restrained  from  going  at  once  upon  the  war- 
path by  the  promise  of  Old  Tassel  to  lay  the  matter  be- 
fore the  Governor,  and  by  his  assurance  that  his  Excel- 
lency would  now  not  only  listen  to  their  comj^laints,  but 
would  sjDcedily  take  steps  to  redress  this  and  their  other 
grievances. 

In  this  the  Cherokee  king  was  not  mistaken.  With- 
out so  much  as  asking  for  the  evidence  against  Hubbard, 
Governor  Martin  gave  orders  for  his  immediate  arrest 
and  conveyance  over  the  mountains  ;  and  he  also,  to  ap- 
pease, it  would  seem,  the  wrath  of  this  Indian  chief,  is- 
sued a  proclamation  commanding  the  instant  removal 
of  all  settlers  upon  the  lands  south  of  the  French  Broad 
and  Ilolston.  At  the  same  time  he  wrote  to  Old  Tassel, 
stigmatizing  these  settlers  as  *^bad  people,"  willing  to 
disobey  *'  any  law  for  the  sake  of  ill -gain  and  profit,"  and 
*^  caring  not  what  mischief  they  do  between  the  white 
and  red  people  if  they  can  enrich  themselves"  ;  and  he 
closed  by  entreating  the  wily  old  savage  to  be  "  patient, 
and  not  listen  to  any  bad  talks  which  may  disturb  our 
peace  and  good- will  :  for  vou  may  be  certain  your  elder 


46  JOHN  SEVIER. 

brother  of  North  Carolina  will  do  eyerything  in  his  power 
to  give  your  minds  satisfactioD." 

This  language  Governor  Alexander  Martin  addressed 
to  untutored  savages,  who  would  be  sure  to  mistake  kind 
words  for  weakness ;  and  his  proclamation  he  directed 
against  several  thousand  law-abiding  citizens,  who  had 
settled  on  those  lands  in  reliance  upon-  a  special  promise 
of  protection  made  to  them  by  an  ordinance  of  the  North 
Carolina  Legislature  in  May,  1783.  Moreover,  the  men 
whom  the  Governor  branded  as  lawless  and  *^bad  peo- 
ple" were  among  the  best  in  the  territory — men  whose 
daily  lives  exhibited  some  of  the  noblest  traits  of  Ameri- 
can character,  patient  industry,  indomitable  energy,  man- 
ly resolution,  and  heroic  courage. 

The  Governor's  language  was  regarded  as  an  out- 
rageous insult,  his  proclamation  as  a  flagrant  injustice  ; 
and  both  were  deplored  because  calculated  to  render  the 
Cherokees  more  unreasonable  ia  their  demands.  The 
Indians  were  thus  assured  of  the  sympathy  of  their 
"elder  brother  of  North  Carolina,"  and  this  might  lead 
them  to  reject  any  terms  that  should  provide  for  the 
peaceable  retention  of  their  homes  by  the  intruding  set- 
tlers. This  Sevier  well  knew  ;  but  he  also  knew  that  his 
name  was  a  terror  among  the  Cherokees,  and  he  counted 
upon  the  dread  the  old  king  would  have  of  a  collision 
with  him,  to  counteract  the  effect  of  the  Governor's 
proclamation.  In  any  event,  he  should  protect  the 
French  Broad  settlers,  and  not  permit  their  removal. 

The  council  was  held  on  Dumplin  Creek,  near  the 


THE   ABORTIVE   COMMONTVEALTH.  47 

north  bank  of  the  French  Broad  River,  and  about  ten 
miles  east  of  the  present  city  of  Knoxville  ;  and  it  began 
on  the  31st  of  May,  1785,  only  a  few  days  after  the 
adjournment  of  the  Franklin  Legislature.  It  lasted 
three  days,  and  was  attended  by  a  numerous  body  of 
chiefs  and  warriors.  When  all  had  assembled,  Sevier 
addressed  them.  He  did  not  tell  them  that  his  old 
comrades  had  wrongfully  intruded  upon  their  lands,  nor 
did  he  make  any  apology  or  offer  any  reparation  for  the 
killing  of  Untoola.  But  he  assured  the  Indians  that  he 
desired  to  live  in  peace  with  them,  and,  says  the  old  his- 
torian, '*in  a  speech  well  calculated  to  produce  the  end 
in  view,  he  deplored  the  sufferings  of  the  white  people ; 
the  blood  which  the  Indians  had  spilled  on  the  road 
leading  to  Kentucky ;  lamented  the  uncivilized  state 
of  the  Indians ;  and,  to  prevent  all  future  animosities, 
he  suggested  the  propriety  of  fixing  the  bounds  beyond 
which  those  settlements  should  not  be  extended  which 
had  been  imprudently  made  on  the  south  side  of  the 
French  Broad  and  Holston,  under  the  connivance  of 
North  Carolina,  and  could  not  now  be  broken  up  ;  and 
he  pledged  the  faith  of  the  State  of  Franklin  that,  if 
these  bounds  should  be  agreed  upon  and  made  known, 
the  citizens  of  his  State  should  be  effectually  restrained 
from  all  encroachments  beyond  them."* 

The  fearless  and  manly  attitude  of  Sevier  had  the 
desired  effect  upon   the   Indians.      The  Cherokees  ac- 

*  Haywood. 


48  JOHN  SEVIER. 

cepted  the  situation,  and  not  only  ignored  the  killing 
of  Untoola,  and  waived  the  removal  of  the  settlers,  but 
made  a  cession  of  a  much  larger  territory  than  had  been 
already  occupied,  establishing  as  the  boundary  between 
themselves  and  the  whites  the  high  ridge  which  divides 
the  waters  of  the  Little  Tennessee  from  those  of  Little 
Kiver.  For  these  lands  Sevier  promised  compensation  in 
general  terms,  dependent,  however,  upon  the  good  be- 
havior of  the  Cherokees,  and  their  faithful  observance 
of  the  treaty.  Thus,  by  a  few  spoken  words,  and  the 
magnetism  of  his  presence,  did  he  reduce  the  refractory 
Cherokees  to  reason,  and  undo  the  evil  effects  of  the  ill- 
advised  *^  talks  "of  the  North  Carolina  Governor.  But 
the  wily  Old  Tassel  absented  himself  from  the  confer- 
ence, and  was  not  therefore  a  party  to  the  treaty.  He 
knew  from  Governor  Martin  of  the  rupture  between 
North  Carolina  and  Franklin,  and  he  sought,  by  staying 
away,  to  keep  in  a  position  to  repudiate  the  treaty  in 
case  circumstances  should  render  such  a  course  advisable 
or  profitable  to  the  Cherokees. 

As  Sevier  was  about  setting  out  to  negotiate  this 
treaty,  an  angry  blast  came  from  over  the  mountains. 
It  was  wind,  empty  and  loud-sounding,  but  in  it  was 
an  articulate  voice,  which  gave  warning  of  *'  breakers 
ahead"  on  the  course  the  new  State  was  pursuing. 
Before  the  adjournment  of  the  Legislature,  Sevier  had 
dispatched  an  official  letter  to  the  Governor  of  North 
Carolina,  apprising  him  of  the  secession  of  Franklin  ; 
and  now  came  in  reply  a  manifesto  from  that  function- 


THE  ABORTIVE  COMMONWEALTH.  49 

ary,  addressed  *^To  the  Inhabitants  of  the  Counties  of 
Washington,  Sullivan,  and  Greene."  The  document  is 
too  long  to  be  liere  quoted,  but  a  few  extracts  will  give 
its  essential  features.  It  began  by  saying,  -^Whereas,  I 
have  received  letters  from  Brigadier-General  Sevier, 
under  the  style  and  character  of  Governor ;  and  from 
Messrs.  Landon  Carter  and  William  Gage,  as  Speakers 
of  the  Senate  and  House  of  Commons  of  the  State  of 
Franklin,  informing  me  that  they,  with  you,  the  in- 
habitants of  part  of  the  territory  lately  ceded  to  Con- 
gress, had  declared  themselves  independent  of  the  State 
of  Xorth  Carolina,  and  no  longer  consider  themselves 
under  the  sovereignty  and  jurisdiction  of  the  same, 
stating  their  reasons  for  their  separation  and  revolt, 
among  which,  it  is  alleged,  that  the  western  country  was 
ceded  to  Congress  without  their  consent,  by  an  act  of 
the  Legislature,  and  the  same  was  repealed  in  the  like 
manner."  The  Governor  then  went  on  through  four 
closely  printed  octavo  pages  to  arraign  the  western  lead- 
ers for  high  treason,  and  to  warn  the  people  of  the  dire- 
ful consequences  that  would  attend  a  defiance  of  the 
Tarboro  Legislators.  *^The  State  of  Xorth  Carolina," 
he  said,  '^  could  not  suffer  treaties  to  be  held  with  the 
Indians  and  other  business  transacted  in  a  country  where 
her  authority  and  government  were  rejected  and  set  at 
naught.  .  .  .  Far  less  causes  had  deluged  states  and  king- 
doms with  blood.  .  .  .  There  is  a  national  pride  in  all 
kingdoms  and  states  that  inspires  every  subject  with  a 
degree  of  importance — the  grand  cement  and  support  of 


50  JOHN  SEVIER. 

every  government — which  must  not  be  insulted."  His 
people  had  been  grossly  insulted,  the  honor  of  his  State 
"particularly  wounded,"  and  "Congress  could  not  coun- 
tenance such  a  separation,  wherein  the  State  of  North 
Carolina  hath  not  given  her  full  consent ;  and,  if  an  im- 
plied and  conditional  one  hath  been  given,  the  same 
hath  been  rescinded  by  a  full  Legislature.  Of  her  rea- 
sons for  so  doing,  they  [who  ?]  consider  themselves  the 
only  comj)etent  judges." 

After  much  of  this  high-sounding  verbiage,  the  Gov- 
ernor resorted  to  threats,  as  follows  :  "  I  know,"  he  said, 
"with  reluctance  the  State  will  be  driven  to  arms;  it 
will  be  the  last  alternative  to  imbrue  her  hands  in  the 
blood  of  her  citizens  ;  but,  if  no  other  ways  and  means 
are  found  to  save  her  honor,  and  reclaim  her  head- 
strong, refractory  citizens,  but  this  sad  expedient,  her  re- 
sources are  not  yet  so  exhausted,  or  her  spirits  damped, 
but  she  may  take  satisfaction  for  this  great  injury  re- 
ceived, regain  her  government  over  the  revolted  terri- 
tory, or  render  it  not  worth  possessing."  The  italics 
are  the  Governor's  own. 

These  threats  were  ill-advised,  and  the  whole  docu- 
ment was  poorly  calculated  to  win  back  the  western 
people  to  a  government  which  had  never  afforded  them 
either  aid  or  protection.  However,  the  paper  did  contain 
a  single  paragraph  which,  had  their  minds  not  been  in- 
flamed by  passion,  might  have  led  the  western  settlers 
to  more  fully  reflect  upon  the  consequences  of  their 
action.      This  paragraph    was  as    follows:    "By  such 


THE   ABORTIVE   COMMON  WE  ALTO.  51 

rash  and  irregular  conduct  a  precedent  is  formed  for 
every  district,  and  even  every  county  of  the  State,  to 
claim  the  right  of  separation  and  independency  for 
any  supposed  grievance  of  the  inhabitants,  as  caprice, 
pride,  and  ambition  shall  dictate,  at  pleasure,  thereby 
exhibiting  to  the  world  a  melancholy  instance  of  a 
feeble  or  pusillanimous  government,  that  is  either  un- 
able, or  dares  not  restrain  the  lawless  designs  of  its 
citizens." 

Copies  of  this  manifesto  were  freely  circulated  in 
manuscript  among  the  people ;  but  it  appears  to  have 
made  no  general  impression.  At  the  moment  every 
one  west  of  the  mountains  was  too  much  infatuated 
with  a  new-born  sense  of  freedom  from  a  hated  con- 
nection, or  too  much  engrossed  with  thoughts  of  the 
pressing  danger  from  the  Creeks  and  Cherokees,  to 
give  heed  to  what  seemed  idle  talk  from  North  Caro- 
lina. Sevier  paid  no  attention  to  the  document  so 
long  as  Martin  continued  Governor ;  but  in  a  few 
weeks  Martin  was  succeeded  in  office  by  Richard  Cas- 
well, a  far  abler  man,  and  to  him  Sevier  addressed  a 
letter,  controverting  the  positions  of  his  predecessor. 
In  it  he  denied  that  he  and  his  people  were  in  revolt 
from  North  Carolina.  That  State,  he  said,  had  by  the 
act  of  cession  invited  the  western  settlers  to  the  course 
they  had  pursued ;  and  they  had  taken  it  from  the 
necessity  to  prevent  anarchy,  and  provide  against  their 
enemies  the  Cherokees  ;  and  they  fully  believed  that 
the  acts  of    North    Carolina  tolerated   the   separation. 


52  JOHN  SEVIER. 

And  he  added:  **The  menaces  made  use  of  in  the 
manifesto  will  by  no  means  intimidate  ns.  We  mean 
to  pursue  our  necessary  measures,  and  with  the  fullest 
confidence  believe  that  your  Legislature,  when  truly  in- 
formed of  our  civil  proceedings,  will  find  no  cause  for 
resenting  anything  we  have  done.  The  repeal  of  the 
cession  act  we  can  not  take  notice  of,  as  we  had  de- 
clared our  separation  before  the  repeal.  Therefore,  we 
are  bound  to  support  it  with  that  manly  firmness  that 
becomes  freemen." 

Throughout  the  letter  Sevier  is  dignified,  but  con- 
ciliatory. By  brief,  pointed  sentences  he  overthrows 
the  wordy  ranting  of  Martin — that  is,  where  it  can  be 
overthrown — but  he  takes  no  notice  whatever  of  the 
latter's  allusion  to  the  danger  of  secession.  This  he 
did  not  attempt  to  answer ;  probably,  because  he  felt 
that  it  could  not  be  answered.  That  he  appreciated 
the  evil  that  might  result  from  the  precedent  he  was 
trying  to  establish,  is  evident  from  a  reference  he  made 
to  it  two  years  later — in  a  letter  he  wrote  to  the  Gov- 
ernor of  Georgia,  wherein  he  styles  secession  an  ulcer 
which,  if  allowed  to  spread,  may  at  last  infect  the  whole 
body  politic. 

It  was  fortunate  for  the  Watauga  settlers,  and  fortu- 
nate also  for  the  country,  that  Richard  Caswell  was  now 
Governor  of  North  Carolina.  He  was  one  of  those  rare 
men — not  over-plentiful  at  any  period,  and  least  of  all 
when  society  has  been  but  recently  upheaved  by  the 
strong  passions  of  a  revolution — who  can  look  on  both 


THE  ABORTIVE  COMMONWEALTU.  53 

sides  of   a  question,  and,  while  nob   forgetting  his  own 
rights  and  obligations,  can  fully  appreciate  the  circum- 
stances and   necessities  of   an  adversary.     Had  Martin 
continued  in  office,  and  attempted  to  enforce  his  policy 
of   coercion,    the   most    disastrous    consequences    would 
probably  have  followed.     North   Carolina  outnumbered 
the  settlers  more  than  twenty  to  one,  but  she   had  no 
military  leaders,  and  her  wretched  -  sand-hillers "  were 
no  match  for  the  over-mountain  men,  who  would  have 
fought  behind  their  mountain  fastnesses,  and  under  the 
lead  of  Sevier,  who  was  incarnate  victory.     The  probar 
bilities  are  that  Watauga  would   have  been  successful ; 
and   her  revolt,  occurring  so  early,  while  the   Central 
Government  was  as   yet  but  a  rope  of   sand,  and  the 
various   States  were  drawn  apart  by  conflicting  mter- 
ests,  other  revolts  would  doubtless  have  followed.     Thus, 
what  Sevier  termed  the  -ulcer"  of  secession  would  have 
spread,  till  the  Union  was  rent   into  fragments,    and 
there  had  been  to-day  a  dozen  little  republics  instead 
of  our  one  vast  and  united  nation.     So,  on  what  seems 
to  us  insignificant  events  hang  often  great  results,  which 
are  felt  far  along  the  course  of  time,  and  over  the  whole 
of  a  continent.     In   reply  to   Sevier's  letter.  Governor 
Caswell  wrote  as  follows  : 

"  Kingston,  X.  C,  11th  June,  1TS5. 
*^SiR  :  Your  favor  of  the  14th  of  last  month  I  had 
the  honor  to  receive  by  Colonel  Avery.     In  this,  sir,  you 
have  stated  the  different  charges  mentioned  in  Governor 


54:  JOHN  SEVIER. 

Martin's  manifesto,  and  answered  them  by  giving  what  I 
understand  to  be  the  sense  of  the  people  and  your  own 
sentiments  with  respect  to  each  charge,  as  well  as 
the  reasons  which  governed  in  the  measures  he  com- 
plained of. 

"I  have  not  seen  Governor  Martin's  manifesto,  nor 
have  I  derived  so  full  and  explicit  information  from  any 
quarter  as  this  you  have  been  pleased  to  give  me.  As 
there  was  not  an  Assembly,  owing  to  the  members  not 
attending  at  Governor  Martin's  request,  the  sense  of  the 
Legislature  on 'this  business,  of  course,  could  not  be  had  ; 
and  as  you  give  me  assurances  of  the  peaceable  dispo- 
sition of  the  people,  and  their  wish  to  conduct  themselves 
in  the  manner  you  mention,  and  also  to  send  persons  to 
adjust,  consider,  and  conciliate  matters  (I  suppose)  to 
the  next  Assembly,  for  the  present  things  must  rest  as 
they  are  with  respect  to  the  subject-matter  of  your  letter, 
which  shall  be  laid  before  the  next  Assembly.  In  the 
mean  time,  let  me  entreat  you  not,  by  any  means,  to  con- 
sider this  as  giving  countenance,  by  the  Executive  of  the 
State,  to  any  measures  lately  pursued  by  the  people  to 
the  westward  of  the  mountains." 

Being  thus  left  unmolested  by  North  Carolina,  Sevier 
had  time  to  attend  to  the  consolidation  of  the  new  gov- 
ernment. Law  was  at  once  effectually  administered,  a 
few  notorious  criminals  were  properly  punished,  the  dis- 
orderly element  was  awed  into  good  behavior,  and  the 
militia  was  thoroughly  drilled,  to  be  in  readiness  at  any 


THE  ABORTIVE   COMMONWEALTH.  55 

moment  to  repel  an  attack  from  the  treacherous  Creeks 
and  Cherokees.  Under  Sevier's  mild  but  efficient  rule 
everything  soon  went  well  ;  and  now  for  several  months 
it  seemed  that  "Watauga  had  entered  upon  an  unbroken 
career  of  peace  and  prosperity.  So  successful  was  Se- 
vier's administration  of  affairs  that  it  was  not  long  be- 
fore the  Scotch  Presbyterians  of  the  Backwater  settle- 
ments, some  of  whom  had  fought  by  his  side  at  King's 
Mountain,  took  steps,  under  the  lead  of  Arthur  Camp- 
bell, to  sever  their  connection  with  Virginia,  and  en- 
roll themselves  under  the  new  Franklin  government. 
Strange  as  it  may  seem,  the  first  ripple  that  disturbed 
this  placid  state  of  things  was  raised  by  the  distant  Cen- 
tral Government,  which  now  was  in  session  at  Philadel- 
phia. It  had  thus  far  turned  a  deaf  ear  to  the  applica- 
tion of  Watauga  for  admission  to  the  Union  ;  and  it  was 
now  to  exercise  its  treaty-making  power  in  a  manner 
both  embarrassing  and  dangerous  to  the  nascent  com- 
monwealth. 

On  the  19th  of  September,  1785,  not  much  more 
than  half  a  year  after  the  launching  of  the  State  of 
Franklin  by  the  over-mountain  Legislature,  one  Joseph 
Martin,  Indian  agent  for  the  State  of  North  Carolina, 
held  a  conference  with  the  principal  Cherokee  chief- 
tains, in  the  grand  council-house  of  the  tribe  at  Echota. 
Squatted  on  a  buffalo -robe  by  his  side  was  the  Old 
Tassel,  while  around  him,  on  the  ground,  or  on  the 
cane  benches  which  encircled  the  dingy  but  spacious  in- 
terior, were  gathered  the  '^  head-men  "  of  the  Ottari  and 


5G  JOHN  SEVIER. 

Erati  Cherokees.  These  warriors  had  come  together 
from  far  and  near  to  hold  what  in  Indian  parlance  is 
styled  a  "  talk"  with  this  "  head-man  "  of  North  Caro- 
lina ;  and  this  talk,  red  uced  to  writing,  and  dispatched 
over  the  mountains,  was  first  to  stir  the  stagnant  atmos- 
phere of  North  Carolina,  and  then  to  arouse  a  breeze  in 
the  great  council-house  of  the  Union  at  Philadelphia — 
a  breeze  which  should  bode  no  good  to  the  government 
of  Sevier,  and  to  the  "  bad  people"  who  now,  by  right  of 
treaty,  were  peacefully  gathering  their  crops  on  the  south 
side  of  the  French  Broad  and  Holstou. 

This  Martin,  though  an  official  of  North  Carolina, 
had  been  one  of  the  earliest  and  most  active  promoters 
of  the  new  State  ;  but  somehow,  when  it  came  to  be 
organized,  he  had,  much  to  his  chagrin,  found  himself, 
like  Tipton,  left  without  any  official  position  whatever. 
This,  had  he  been  greedy  of  emoluments,  could  not 
have  been  a  very  sore  affliction,  but  he  probably  cared 
more  for  position  than  profit,  for  the  reason  that  in 
the  backwoods  the  possession  of  money  is  not  a  sure 
passport  to  influence  and  consideration.  Luckily,  how- 
ever, he  had  not  been  so  unwise  as  to  cast  away  an  old 
coat  before  obtaining  a  new  one  ;  and  now  he  resumed 
his  former  office,  and  left  the  new  State  to  go  on  its  own 
way  to  destructioD.  But  in  these  early  days  of  Septem- 
ber there  arose  an  occasion  when,  to  preserve  what  little 
of  official  position  he  had,  it  seemed  to  Martin  necessary 
that  he  should  help  the  new  government  on  to  its  pre- 
destined  consummation.      This   might  involve   the  be- 


THE  ABORTIVE  COMMONWEALTH.  57 

trayal  of  bis  friends,  but  tbat  were  better  than  the  loss  of 
office  under  North  Carolina. 

Martin  had  joassed  the  most  of  the  summer  among 
the  Cherokees,  listening  to  the  grumblings  of  Old  Tassel 
and  the  smothered  curses  of  the  warriors  upon  the  fast- 
incoming  settlers,  who  were  rapidly  filling  up  the  lands 
recently  ceded  to  Franklin  ;  but  he  had  uttered  not  one 
word  of  sympathy,  encouragement,  or  remonstrance.  The 
affair  he  deemed  none  of  his  ;  he  was  an  officer  of  Xorth 
Carolina ;  and,  as  yet,  he  had  no  definite  intimation  of 
how  the  recent  secession  was  regarded  by  its  new  admin- 
istration. But  early  in  September  there  came  to  Echota 
the  same  Colonel  Avery  who  had  borne  Sevier's  letter  to 
Governor  Caswell,  and  he  brought  to  Martin  a  missive 
from  his  Excellency,  which  he  had  carried  in  his  pocket 
ever  since  the  date  of  the  Governor's  letter  to  Sevier. 
The  Governor  had  heard  of  Martin's  activity  in  the 
formation  of  the  new  State,  and  he  now  asked  the  Indian 
agent  the  pertinent  question,  if  he  intended  to  serve  two 
masters — or  rather,  in  backwoods  phrase,  if  he  was  at- 
tempting to  ride  two  horses  at  once,  barebacked,  after 
the  Indian  fashion. 

The  Governor's  question  alarmed  Martin,  and  he 
deemed  it  necessary  to  do  something  at  once  that  should 
assure  ^N'orth  Carolina  of  his  zealous  allegiance.  So,  sud- 
denly, he  became  sympathetic  with  Old  Tassel,  and  told 
him  that  the  existence  of  Franklin  had  not  yet  been 
recognized  by  Xorth  Carolina  ;  that,  consequently,  the 
treaty  which  Sevier  had  lately  made  with  the  Cherokees 


58  JOHN  SEVIER. 

was  no  better  than  waste  paper ;  and  that,  if  Old  Tas- 
sel should  petition  the  Governor  of  North  Carolina,  his 
Excellency  would  doubtless  order  the  removal  of  the 
^^bad  people  "  from  the  lands  south  of  the  French  Broad 
and  the  Holston.  This  it  was  which  had  led  the  Chero- 
kee king  to  call  together  the  ^^ head-men"  of  the  whole 
nation,  who  now  were  assembled  in  their  great  council- 
house,  eagerly  listening  to  this  white  man,  who  was  tell- 
ing them  by  what  treacherous  diplomacy  they  might 
evade  the  sacred  obligations  of  a  treaty,  and  involve  in 
ruin  several  thousands  of  his  own  race  and  kindred. 
The  *'talk"  which  resulted  from  this  council,  and  was 
dispatched  from  Old  Tassel  to  Governor  Caswell,  was 
as  follows  : 

*'  Bkother:  I  am  now  going  to  speak  to  you  ;  I  hope 
you  will  hear  me.  I  am  an  old  man,  and  almost  thrown 
away  by  my  elder  brother.  The  ground  I  stand  on  is  very 
slippery,  though  I  still  hope  my  elder  brother  will  hear 
me,  and  take  pity  on  me,  as  we  were  all  made  by  the 
same  Great  Being  above  ;  we  are  all  children  of  the  same 
parent.     I  therefore  hope  my  elder  brother  will  hear  me. 

*' You  have  often  promised  me,  in  talks  that  you  sent 
me,  that  you  would  do  me  justice,  and  that  all  disorderly 
people  should  be  moved  off  our  lands  ;  but  the  longer  we 
want  to  see  it  done,  the  farther  it  seems  off.  Your 
people  have  built  houses  in  sight  of  our  towns.  We 
don't  want  to  quarrel  with  you,  our  elder  brother.  I 
therefore  beg  that  you,  our  elder  brother,  will  have  your 


THE  ABORTIVE  COMMONWEALTH.  59 

disorderly  people  taken  off  our  lands  immediately,  as 
their  being  on  our  grounds  causes  great  uneasiness.  We 
are  very  uneasy  on  account  of  a  report  that  is  among 
the  white  people,  that  call  themselves  a  new  people,  that 
live  on  French  Broad  and  Xolichucky.  They  say  they 
have  treated  with  us  for  all  the  lands  on  Little  River.  I 
now  send  this  to  let  my  elder  brother  know  how  it  is. 
Some  of  them  gathered  on  French  Broad,  and  sent  for  us 
to  come  and  treat  with  them ;  but,  as  I  was  told  there 
was  a  treaty  to  be  held  with  us  by  orders  of  the  great 
men  of  the  Thirteen  States,  we  did  not  go  to  meet  them  ; 
but  some  of  our  young  men  went  to  see  what  they 
wanted.  They  first  wanted  the  land  on  Little  River. 
Our  young  men  told  them  that  all  their  head-men  were 
at  home  ;  that  they  had  no  authority  to  treat  about 
lands.  They  then  asked  liberty  for  those  that  were  then 
living  on  the  lands  to  remain  there,  till  the  head-men  of 
their  nation  were  consulted  on  it,  which  our  young  men 
agreed  to.  Since  then  we  are  told  that  they  claim  all  the 
lands  on  the  waters  of  Little  River,  and  have  appointed 
men  among  themselves  to  settle  their  disputes  on  our 
lands,  calling  it  their  ground.  But  we  hope  you,  our 
elder  brother,  will  not  agree  to  it,  but  will  have  them 
moved  off.  I  also  beg  that  you  will  send  letters  to  the 
Great  Council  of  America,  and  let  them  know  how  it  is  ; 
tliat,  if  you  have  no  power  to  move  them  off,  they  have, 
and  I  hope  they  will  do  it." 

Of  his  own   personal  knowledge,  Martin   knew  that 


60  JOHN  SEVIER. 

this  "talk"  was  a  tissue  of  duplicity  and  dowuriglit 
falsehood,  calculated  and  intended  to  deceive,  and  de- 
signed to  induce  such  action  on  the  part  of  Congress  as 
would  render  homeless,  or  expose  to  the  tomahawk  and 
scalping-knife,  some  thousands  of  men,  women,  and  chil- 
dren of  his  own  nation  and  kindred ;  and  yet  he  not 
only  permitted  this  false  pajDer  to  go  forward  to  the  Gov- 
ernor of  North  Carolina,  without  contradiction  or  re- 
monstrance, but  himself  sent  it  to  his  Excellency ;  and 
there  is  good  circumstantial  eyidence  that  he  inspired 
its  lies,  and  intrigued  with  Governor  Caswell  to  get  him- 
self appointed  by  Congress  upon  the  treaty  commission, 
in  order  the  more  effectually  to  accomplish  his  end, 
which  was  the  infliction  of  a  vital  blow  upon  the  govern- 
ment of  Sevier,  a  man  with  whom  he  had  served,  and 
for  whom  he  then  and  afterward  professed  the  warm- 
est friendship.  With  the  "talk"  Martin  dispatched  to 
Governor  Caswell  the  following  epistle  : 

"  Chota,  19//i  September,  1785. 

"  Deae  Sir  :  Your  Excellency's  favor  of  the  17th 
June,  by  Mr.  Avery,  never  came  to  hand  until  the  10th 
inst.  I  find  myself  under  some  concern,  in  reading  that 
part  wherein  I  am  considered  a  member  of  the  new 
State.  I  beg  leave  to  assure  your  Excellency  that  I  have 
no  part  with  them,  but  consider  myself  under  your  im- 
.  mediate  direction,  as  agent  for  the  State  of  North  Caro- 
lina, until  the  Assembly  shall  direct  otherwise.  I  am 
now  on  the  duties   of  that  office,  and  have  had  more 


THE  ABORTIVE   COMMONWEALTH.  61 

trouble  with  the  Indians,  in  the  course  of  the  summer, 
than  I  ever  had,  owing  to  the  rapid  encroachments  of  the 
people  from  the  new  State,  together  with  the  *  talks' 
from  the  Spaniards  and  the  western  Indians." 

Whatever  his  predecessor  had  done.  Governor  Cas- 
well was  not  disposed  to  usurp  any  of  the  prerogatives 
of  the  General  Government.  Accordingly,  he  submitted 
the  "  talk"  of  Old  Tassel  to  Congress,  recommending  that 
a  treaty  should  be  at  once  made  with  the  Cherokees,  and 
naming  Joseph  Martin  as  peculiarly  fitted,  by  his  famil- 
iarity with  those  Indians,  and  his  knowledge  of  the  ques- 
tions in  dispute  between  them  and  the  settlers,  to  act  as 
one  of  the  commissioners.  Congress  had  for  some  time 
contemplated  some  action  in  reference  to  affairs  with  the 
Southern  Indians,  and  it  now  promptly  appointed  Joseph 
Martin,  of  North  Carolina ;  Andrew  Pickens,  of  South 
Carolina ;  and  Lachlan  Mcintosh  and  Benjamin  Haw- 
kins, of  Georgia,  commissioners  to  conclude  a  treaty  with 
the  Cherokees.  The  three  last  named  were  men  of  the 
highest  character,  and  Hawkins  was  familiar  with  the 
Creeks  and  more  southern  Indians ;  but  none  of  the 
four,  except  Martin,  had  any  special  acquaintance  with 
the  Cherokees,  or  any  knowledge  of  their  relations  to  the 
Watauga  settlers.  Consequently,  the  others  deferred  to 
Martin's  views,  and  the  result  was  what  is  known  as  the 
treaty  of  Hopewell,  by  which  all  recent  treaties  were 
Ignored,  and  the  Indian  lines  were  extended  so  as  to 
cover  a  large  extent  of  territory   which  had  been  ceded 


62  JOHN  SEVIER. 

by  the  Cherokees  to  Henderson  in  1776,  and  eyen  por- 
tions of  country  which  that  tribe  never  claimed,  and 
which  had  been  conveyed  to  the  whites  by  the  Six  Na- 
tions at  Fort  Stanwix  in  1768.  A  considerable  part  of 
the  lands  recently  granted  by  North  Carolina,  in  pay- 
ment of  the  arrears  due  to  her  soldiers,  was  declared  to 
be  within  Cherokee  territory,  and  it  was  agreed  that  they 
should  not  be  settled  upon  by  the  whites.  Intending 
settlers  should  be  warned  off,  and,  if  they  persisted  in 
settling,  ^'for  any  such  obstinate  intrusion,  they  should 
be  liable  to  be  punished  by  the  Indians  as  they  might 
think  proper."  Moreover,  the  treaty  clothed  the  Chero- 
kees with  judicial  and  executive  powers  of  a  most  ex- 
traordinary character.  They  might  arrest  any  persons 
they  believed  to  be  guilty  of  a  capital  offense,  and 
*' punish  them  in  the  presence  of  some  of  the  Cherokees, 
in  the  same  manner  as  they  would  be  punished  for  like 
offenses  committed  on  citizens  of  the  United  States." 
The  treaty,  in  short,  placed  the  Cherokees  upon  a  par 
with  the  most  civilized  nations,  and  made  Congress  the 
unwitting  instrument  of  the  most  flagrant  injustice  to  its 
own  law-abiding  citizens. 

By  this  extravagant  and  needless  concession  to  the 
Cherokees,  some  thousands  of  the  loyal  supporters  of  the 
Government  were  denied  both  State  and  national  protec- 
tion, and  left  exposed  to  the  savage  mercy  of  a  nation  of 
cut-throats,  who,  despite  repeated  cessions,  could  now 
claim  this  territory  as  their  hunting-ground.  The  alter- 
natives before  the   settlers  south   of    the   Holston   and 


THE  ABORTIVE  COMMONWEALTH.  63 

Frencli  Broad  were"  now  cither  the  abandonment  of  their 
homes  or  a  conflict  for  their  possession  with  the  whole 
Cherokee  nation.  The  last  they  could  not  meet  without 
the  aid  of  Sevier,  and  this  he  could  not  give  without  ar- 
raying against  himself  not  only  North  Carolina  and  the 
Chcrokees,  but  the  General  Government  of  the  country. 
It  was  probable  that  the  settlers  would  not  abandon  their 
homes ;  they  were  men  who  had  never  yet  turned  their 
backs  upon  an  Indian  ;  and  it  was  certain  that  Sevier 
would  not  stand  by  and  see  them  slaughtered  by  the  sav- 
ages. What  human  power,  then,  could  hinder  a  collision 
between  him  and  the  United  States,  and  his  consequent 
defeat,  outlawry,  and  final  ruin  ?  This  was,  no  doubt, 
the  thought  of  Martin,  and  with  this  thought  he  must 
have  put  his  hand  to  the  treaty  of  Hopewell. 

It  was  in  these  circumstances — opposed  by  established 
law,  betrayed  by  pretended  friends,  and  on  every  side  sur- 
rounded by  apparently  insurmountable  difiBculties — that 
Sevier  met  the  convention  which,  in  November,  1785, 
assembled  in  the  little  log  court-house  at  Greeneville  to 
form  a  permanent  Constitution  for  the  State  of  Franklin. 


CHAPTER  IV. 

THE  BEGINNING  OF  TROUBLES. 

To  this  conyention  came  John  Tipton — Sheba,  the 
son  of  Bichri — who  had  somehow  i:)rocured  himself  elect- 
ed a  deputy,  and  also  the  Key.  Samuel  Houston,  pro- 
genitor, or  near  kinsman,  to  that  other  Sam  Houston, 
who  did  many  braye  things,  but  none  braver  than  riding 
by  the  side  of  Lincoln  when  he  deemed  that  good  man's 
life  in  danger  on  the  eve  of  his  inauguration.  In  the 
pocket  of  the  reyerend  gentleman  was  a  ready-made  con- 
stitution, the  handiwork  of  himself  and  his  friends  dur- 
ing the  long  months  which  had  elapsed  since  the  session 
of  the  organizing  conyention.  This  Constitution,  when 
Seyier  had  taken  the  chair,  and  a  blessing  had  been  asked 
upon  the  deliberations  of  the  delegates,  the  worthy  clergy- 
man proceeded  to  unroll,  asking  permission  that  it  might 
be  read  and  submitted  to  the  yote  of  the  conyention. 
Permission  was  readily  accorded,  for  Houston  was  a  man 
much  esteemed — a  cast-iron  man,  of  rigid  principles  and 
fixed  opinions,  run  in  the  Scotch  Presbyterian  mold,  but 
neyertheless  holdiu":  in  solution  that  kind  of  salt  which 


THE   BEGINNING   OF  TROUBLES.  65 

keeps  this  world  ** sweet  and  wholesome."  How  much 
time  was  consumed  in  the  reading  is  not  stated  ;  hut  it 
must  have  been  the  better  part  of  a  day,  for  the  document 
was  longer  than  the  *^  Westminster  Catechism"  and  the 
"  Thirty-nine  Articles  "  put  together,  and  it  was  of  much 
the  same  character.  It  proposed  to  run  the  new  govern- 
ment on  theological  principles  ;  and,  to  secure  the  purity 
of  its  legislative  and  administrative  branches,  it  provided 
that  no  person  should  be  eligible  as  a  representative,  or 
competent  to  hold  any  civil  office  under  the  new  State, 
who  was  of  ^'  immoral  character,  or  guilty  of  such  flagrant 
enormities  as  drunkenness,  gaming,  profane  swearing, 
lewdness,  Sabbath-breaking,  and  such  like  ;  or  who  will, 
either  in  word  or  writing,  deny  any  of  the  following 
propositions,  viz. : 

"  1.  That  there  is  one  living  and  true  God,  the  Crea- 
tor and  Governor  of  the  universe. 

*'2.  That  there  is  a  future  state  of  rewards  and  pun- 
ishments. 

"d.  That  the  Scriptures  of  the  Old  and  Xew  Testa- 
ments are  given  by  Divine  inspiration. 

'•  4.  That  there  are  three  divine  persons  in  the  God- 
head, co-equal  and  co-essential. " 

To  other  sections  of  a  like  orthodox  character  were 
added  many  admirable  provisions  for  the  promotion  of 
education,  the  preservation  of  good  order,  and  the  strict 
enforcement  of  law  and  impartial  administration  of  jus- 
tice ;  but  the  whole  was  quite  as  well  adapted  to  the  in- 
habitants of  the  planet  Saturn  as  to  the  heterogeneous 


66  JOHN  SEVIER. 

population  which  then  tenanted  the  trans- Alleghany  re- 
gion. 

An  animated  discussion  followed  the  reading  of  this 
document,  in  which  its  advocates  exhibited  an  acrimony 
altogether  unorthodox.  They  speedily  developed  the 
fact  that  here,  in  these  far-western  backwoods,  near  the 
close  of  the  eighteenth  century,  there  existed  as  much 
intolerant  bigotry  and  ill-directed  religious  zeal  as  was  to 
be  found  in  New  England  at  the  much  earlier  period 
(1674)  when  the  zealots  of  that  region  made  themselves 
so  obnoxious  to  their  neighbors  that  the  stolid  Dutchmen 
of  New  York  passed  a  law  forbidding  all  intercourse  with 
the  Yankees.  The  large  minority  which  voted  for  this 
Utopian  Constitution  showed  that  this  intolerant  spirit 
prevailed  among  a  considerable  portion  of  the  communi- 
ty. While  the  discussion  was  in  progress,  the  loquacious 
John  Tipton  sat  in  his  place  as  dumb  as  an  oyster  ;  but, 
when  the  decision  came  to  be  made,  he  gave  his  vote  in 
the  affirmative  !  Strange  that  this  man,  whose  daily  life 
was  a  flagrant  violation  of  some  of  its  j)rohibitions, 
should  sustain  an  instrument  which  would  shut  him  out 
forever  from  what  he  most  coveted — official  position ! 
Perhaps,  however,  he  counted  on  a  much-needed  amend- 
ment of  life,  or  saw  in  this  strong  religious  phalanx  the 
nucleus  of  a  party  which  might  be  arrayed  for  the  over- 
throw of  Sevier,  and  his  own  political  elevation.  What- 
ever the  cause,  it  is  capable  of  demonstration  that,  at 
some  moment  during  this  day's  session,  Tipton  was  sud- 
denly converted  from  a  boisterous  upholder  of  secession 


THE   BEGINNING   OF   TROUBLES.  67 

to  a  zealous  advocate  of  Xortli  Carolina  and  the  old  order 
of  things. 

When  the  voting  was  over,  Sevier  arose,  and,  in  a  tem- 
jierate  and  conciliatory  address,  alluded  to  the  good  order 
and  general  prosperity  which  had  prevailed  during  the 
past  year,  while  the  people  had  lived  under  the  old  Con- 
stitution. The  world,  he  said,  was  governed  too  much. 
Good  order,  social  progress,  jDolitical  prosperity,  depend- 
ed not  so  much  upon  a  multiplicity  of  laws  as  on  the 
proper  enforcement  of  a  few  good  ones.  The  old  laws 
were  good  enough  ;  the  trouble  Iiad  been  in  their  lax  ad- 
ministration. He  was  glad  to  see  so  large  a  number  zeal- 
ous for  social  order  and  a  strict  observance  of  religious 
duty.  Such  men  were  the  salt  of  the  earth,  shining 
lights  set  to  show  the  world  the  beauty  of  a  spiritual  life, 
and  to  lead  men  up  and  out  of  a  mere  natural  and 
animal  condition.  Without  them  and  their  principles 
modern  civilization  could  not  exist  ;  but  he  questioned 
the  expediency  of  bringing  religious  tenets  into  a  civil 
constitution.  The  union  of  church  and  state  existed  in 
some  of  the  older  countries,  but  it  was  clearly  contrary  to 
the  teachings  of  the  Bible  and  the  example  of  Christ, 
who  had  said,  ''  Who  made  me  a  judge  or  a  divider  over 
you  ? "  and  "  Render  unto  Caesar  the  things  which  are 
Caesar's,  to  God  the  things  which  are  God's."  Such 
things  should  be  left  to  spiritual  teachers;  and  more  zeal- 
ous, intelligent,  and  self-devoted  men  of  this  class  could 
not  anywhere  be  found  than  now  ministered  to  the  little 
flock  gathered  there  beyond  the  mountains.     In  conclu- 


68  JOHiT  SEVIER. 

sion,  lie  proposed  the  adoption  of  the  Constitution  of 
North  Carolina,  with  such  modifications  as  would  more 
perfectly  adapt  it  to  the  condition  of  the  over-mountain 
people. 

This  was  done,  after  considerable  discussion,  and 
against  the  written  protest  of  nineteen  of  the  members, 
among  whom  were  Samuel  Houston,  John  Tipton,  John 
Blair,  James  Stuart,  and  George  Maxwell,  all  of  whom 
were  soon  to  be  arrayed  in  bitter  hostility  to  the  Frank- 
lin government.  During  the  discussion  it  had  been  per- 
tinently asked:  ^'11  we  adopt  the  Constitution  of  North 
Carolina,  why  not  adhere  to  the  government  of  North 
Carolina  ?  If  we  are  to  live  under  her  laws,  how  shall  we 
be  better  off  when  standing  alone  than  when  united  to 
her,  and  secure  in  the  protection  she  now  so  abundantly 
promises  for  the  future  ? "  This  idea  was  the  stock  in 
trade  of  the  party  which  Tipton  soon  attempted  to  or- 
ganize in  opposition  to  Sevier's  government. 

For  North  Carolina  had  now  outdone  the  gracious 
father  in  the  parable.  He  made  haste  to  welcome  the  re- 
turning prodigal ;  she  had  not  only  gone  to  meet  him 
when  he  was  yet  a  great  way  off,  but  had  sought  him 
out  in  that  far  country  before  he  had  the  remotest 
thought  of  returning  to  the  old  family  mansion.  Her 
Legislature  had  refused  to  receive  the  delegates  whom 
Sevier  had  appointed  to  arrange  the  terms  of  separation ; 
it  had  turned  a  deaf  ear  to  numerously  signed  petitions 
to  that  end  from  the  people  of  Franklin,  but  it  soon 
afterward  had  passed  an  act  with  this  preamble : 


THE   BEGINNING  OF  TROUBLES.  69 

"  Whereas,  many  of  the  inhabitants  of  Washington, 
Greene,  and  Sullivan  Counties  have  withdrawn  their  al- 
legiance from  this  State,  and  have  been  erecting  a  tem- 
porary separate  government  among  themselves,  in  con- 
sequence of  a  general  report  and  belief  that  the  State, 
being  inattentive  to  their  welfare,  had  ceased  to  regard 
them  as  citizens,  and  had  made  an  absolute  cession,  both 
of  the  soil  and  jurisdiction  of  the  country  in  which  they, 
reside,  to  the  United  States  in  Congress ;  and  tvhercas, 
such  report  was  ill-founded,  and  it  was,  and  continues  to 
be,  the  desire  of  the  General  Assembly  of  this  State  to 
extend  the  benefits  of  civil  government  to  the  citizens 
and  inhabitants  of  the  western  counties,  until  such  time 
as  they  might  be  separated  with  advantage  and  conven- 
ience to  themselves  ;  and  the  Assembly  are  ready  to  pass 
over  and  consign  to  oblivion  the  mistakes  and  miscon- 
duct of  such  persons  in  the  above-mentioned  counties  as 
have  withdrawn  themselves  from  the  government  of  this 
State,  to  hear  and  redress  their  gi'ievances,  if  any  they 
have,  and  to  afford  them  the  protection  and  benefits  of 
government,  until  such  time  as  they  may  be  in  a  condi- 
tion, from  their  numbers  and  wealth,  to  be  formed  into  a 
separate  commonwealth,  and  be  received  by  the  United 
States  as  a  member  of  the  Union  :  Therefore,  be  it  en- 
acted," etc. 

The  above  would  seem  to  indicate  that  it  was  not  the 
prodigal  son,  but  the  righteous  father,  who  had  come  to 
a  hopeful  repentance.  However,  a  reading  of  the  law 
which  follows  this  ^'  Be  it  enacted  "  dispels  this  illusion. 


70  JOHN  SEVIER. 

It  provided  for  a  total  change  in  the  manner  of  hold- 
ing elections  in  the  western  counties.  It  authorized  any 
'•'three  good  and  honest  men  "  to  open  a  poll,  constitute 
themselves  inspectors  of  election,  and  return  as  elected 
whoever  might  receive  a  majority  of  the  votes  cast  for 
State  offices  by  the  persons  then  present.  This  enabled, 
and  it  was  intended  to  enable,  any  ten  or  a  dozen  voters, 
in  a  voting  population  of  perhaps  many  hundreds,  to 
come  together  and  elect  members  of  the  North  Carolina 
Senate  and  House  of  Commons,  who,  though  chosen  by 
an  insignificant  minority,  could  claim  to  represent  the 
entire  community.  It  is  not  known  who  originated  the 
measure,  but  it  was  evidently  conceived  in  a  spirit  of  bit- 
ter hostility  to  Sevier  and  his  government.  Its  covert 
malice  was  worthy  of  the  man  whose  adroit  diplomacy 
had  brought  about  the  treaty  of  Hopewell ;  and  it  is  cer- 
tain that  he  was  then  in  attendance  on  the  North  Caro- 
lina Legislature.  Alluding  to  it  subsequently  in  a  letter 
to  Governor  Caswell,  Judge  Campbell  said:  *'If  it  was 
intended  to  divide  us,  and  set  us  to  massacring  one 
another,  it  was  well  concerted;  but  it  was  an  ill-planned 
scheme,  if  intended  for  the  good  of  all." 

Then  followed  a  marriage  whose  bans  are  forbidden 
by  both  reason  and  Scripture — a  union  of  the  God- 
fearing, upright,  but  narrow-minded  clergyman  with 
the  unprincipled  demagogue,  whom  we  now  style  the 
*' pot-house  politician" — for  the  race  has  not  altogether 
died  out  in  this  country.  The  clergyman  had  his  Con- 
stitution put  in  type — sending  the  precious  manuscript 


THE   BEGINNING   OF  TROUBLES.  71 

all  the  way  to  Philadelphia  for  the  purpose — and  in 
pamphlet  form  it  was  now  circulated  everywhere  among 
the  godly,  with  the  appended  query,  *'  What  better 
are  we  off  than  if  under  North  Carolina  ? "  And,  of 
a  truth,  they  were  no  better  off  so  far  as  any  Constitution 
could  make  them ;  for  among  the  laws  of  North  Caro- 
lina were  statutes,  as  old  as  1741,  which  prohibited 
drunkenness,  Sabbath-breaking,  and  profane  swearing, 
under  a  penalty,  for  each  offense,  of  ten  shillings.  But, 
alas  !  the  major  part  of  the  population  sinned  against 
these  laws  daily,  and  hence  they  had  fallen  into  desue- 
tude, for  a  general  tax  of  a  dollar  and  a  quarter  per  diem 
would  impoverish  any  rural  people  in  a  twelvemonth. 

It  is  not  to  be  supposed  that  Tipton  circulated  many 
copies  of  the  evangelical  Constitution  among  his  bar- 
room associates ;  nevertheless,  he  used  much  the  same 
arguments  as  his  clerical  coadjutor.  Neither  found  at 
first  many  adherents,  and  they  never  had  any  among 
the  more  westerly  settlers,  who  were  exposed  to  daily 
incursions  from  the  Indians,  and  knew  no  other  salva- 
tion from  border  perils  than  Nolichucky  Jack  and  his 
riflemen.  But  in  Washington  County,  among  the  set- 
tlers along  the  base  of  the  mountains,  who  dreaded  a 
collision  with  North  Carolina,  and  now  seldom  saw  the 
face  of  a  Cherokee,  they  gained  a  few  converts  during 
this  winter  and  the  following  spring  and  summer — how 
many  is  not  known,  but  enough  to  secure,  under  the 
recent  law,  a  seat  in  the  North  Carolina  Senate  to  John 
Tipton. 


72  JOHN  SEVIER. 

One  of  Tipton's  boon  companions  was  now  the  Sheriff 
of  Washington  County,  and  he  issued,  and  caused  to  he 
posted  in  several  inconspicuous  places,  a  notice  for  an 
election  of  members  to  the  North  Carolina  Assembly. 
The  paper,  which  has  been  preserved  in  Kamsey's  "An- 
nals of  Tennessee,"  was  as  follows  : 

'' July,  19th  day,  17S6. 

"  Advertisemekt. — I  hereby  give  Publick  Notice, 
that  there  will  be  an  election  held  the  third  Friday  in 
August  next,  at  John  Eennoe's,  near  the  Sickamore 
Sholes,  where  Charles  Eobertson  formerly  lived,  to 
choose  members  to  represent  Washington  County  in  the 
General  Assembly  of  North  Carolina,  agreeable  to  an  Act 
of  Assembly,  in  that  case  made  and  provided,  where  due 
attendance  will  be  given  pr  me. 

"Geo.  Mitchell,  Shff:' 

In  accordance  with  this  notice  an  election  was  held 
at  the  Sycamore  Shoals,  where  Sevier  and  his  men  had 
gathered,  six  years  before,  for  their  weary  march  to 
King's  Mountain.  How  many  came  together,  or  what 
number  cast  their  votes,  can  not  now  be  ascertained  •, 
but  ten  ballots  were  as  effectual  as  ten  hundred,  and  con- 
sequently John  Tipton  was  elected  to  the  Senate,  and 
James  Stuart  and  Richard  White  were  duly  declared 
members  of  the  House  of  Commons  of  North  Carolina. 
Henceforth,  therefore,  this  "  man  of  Belial "  was  to  be  in  a 
position  to  do  essential  damage  to  the  new  government. 


THE   BEGINNING   OF  TROUBLES.  73 

The  fame  of  Sevier  and  Shelby  had  spread  throughout 
the  State,  but  the  name  of  John  Tipton  had  never  yet 
traveled  across  the  mountains.  The  North  Carolina 
legislators,  who  knew  next  to  nothing  about  the  western 
counties,  knew  absolutely  nothing  about  the  new  Sena- 
tor, except,  perhaps,  that  he  was  a  member  of  a  most 
honorable  family.  He  was  plausible  of  address,  and  glib 
of  tongue  ;  they  would  therefore  listen  to  his  opinions, 
accept  for  gospel  his  statement  of  facts,  and  thus  let 
their  legislation  be  molded  by  a  man  who,  caring  not  a 
Continental  dollar  for  the  good  of  the  peoi)le,  sought 
only  the  overthrow  of  Sevier  and  his  own  advancement. 
Even  Governor  Caswell  would  be  influenced  by  him. 
That  he  was  is  apparent  from  his  letters  to  Sevier,  which 
are  still  preserved  in  the  archives  of  North  Carolina. 
Difficulties,  therefore,  were  to  thicken  around  Sevier  ; 
and,  beleaguered  as  he  would  be  by  open  enmity  and 
secret  conspiracy,  by  internal  discord  and  external  hos- 
tility, it  would  be  a  miracle  if  he  should  sustain  himself 
and  his  new  government.  But,  whether  in  success  or  in 
defeat,  he  would  walk  erect,  for  he  was  crippled  by  no 
unworthy  motive,  and  was  sustained  by  a  single  desire  to 
be  of  service  to  his  country.  Moreover,  and  more  than 
all,  he  had  that  to  lean  upon  which  makes  the  strong 
man  still  -stronger — the  steadfast  devotion  of  the  large- 
minded  and  large-hearted  woman  who  for  thirty-five 
years  walked  loyally  by  his  side. 

It  is  probable  that  Sevier  attached  at  first  very  little 
importance  to  the  opposition  of  Tipton  and  his  associates. 


74  JOHN  SEVIER. 

He  was  not  accustomed  to  lightly  esteem  an  adversary ; 
but  this  man,  he  must  have  thought,  could  have  no 
influence  in  any  right-thinking  community.  But,  what- 
ever he  may  have  thought  of  these  movements,  a  more 
pressing  danger  now  demanded  his  attention.  The 
Cherokees  had  gone  ujDon  the  war-path,  and  were  now 
making  their  long-expected  raid  upon  the  border  settle- 
ments along  the  French  Broad  and  Holston. 

By  the  treaty  of  Hopewell,  as  has  been  stated,  the  set- 
tlers south  of  the  Holston  and  French  Broad  were  ad- 
mitted to  be  intruders  upon  Cherokee  territory.  They 
had  not  yet  removed  from  these  lands,  and  the  Creeks, 
who  were  now  in  alliance  with  Spain  for  the  extermination 
or  driving  off  of  the  American  settlers,  were  constantly 
pressing  Old  Tassel  to  make  war  upon  them  ;  but  the  old 
king  and  his  chieftains  still  held  back,  from  a  wholesome 
dread  of  ]J^olichiicky  Jack  and  his  riflemen.  But,  in  the 
early  days  of  1786,  the  treacherous  Indian  agent,  Joseph 
Martin,  could  apprise  Old  Tassel  that  the  sun  of  Sevier 
was  about  to  suffer  a  sudden  eclipse — that  North  Caro- 
lina was  fixed  in  the  determination  not  to  recognize  his 
government,  and  that  she  was  about  to  appoint  other 
officers  to  command  the  western  militia,  which  step 
would  render  Sevier  joowerless,  and  leave  the  intruding 
settlers  altogether  at  the  mercy  of  the  Cherokees.  That 
Martin  did  this  is  not  positively  known,  and  I  would  not 
picture  him  any  worse  than  he  was.  The  incontestable 
truth  about  this  man  is  bad  enough,  and  sad  enough, 
and  calls  for  no  exaggeration.     However,  this  much  is 


THE  BEGINNING  OF  TROUBLES.  75 

fact — that  Martin  was  then  among  tlie  Cherokees,  and 
the  duties  of  his  oflSce  brought  him  into  intimate  rela- 
tions with  their  king  ;  and  that  Old  Tassel  was,  about 
that  time,  informed  of  an  intended  reorganization  of  the 
western  militia,  which  did  not,  and  could  not,  occur  till 
the  North  Carolina  Legislature  came  together,  some 
months  later.  Martin  was  fully  informed  as  to  the 
Tiews  and  intentions  of  the  leaders  of  that  body,  and 
only  some  person  having  that  knowledge  could  have 
given  Old  Tassel  that  information. 

The  old  king  loved  peace,  but  his  warriors  were 
impatient  of  the  near  neighborhood  of  the  whites,  and 
were  smarting  under  the  repeated  taunts  of  the  Creek 
chief  McGillivray,  who  charged  them  with  cowardice 
because  they  tamely  submitted  to  the  encroachments  of 
the  pale-faces.  The  power  of  an  Indian  king  in  time 
of  war  is  supposed  to  be  absolute  ;  but,  like  such  civ- 
ilized monarchs  as  are  nominally  absolute^  he  is  con- 
trolled, more  or  less,  by  the  will  of  his  people.  So  it 
was  that  Old  Tassel,  averse  as  he  was  to  hostilities, 
had  to  see  early  in  July  a  strong  body  of  his  warriors 
go  upon  the  war-path.  For  some  unknown  reason, 
they  did  not  descend  at  once  upon  the  encroaching 
settlers,  in  defending  whom  Sevier  would  have  come 
in  conflict  with  the  United  States  and  the  Hopewell 
treaty  ;  but  they  fell  upon  those  north  of  the  Holston, 
in  what  is  now  Knox  County,  who  were  clearly  within 
treaty  lines,  and  tlierefore  entitled  to  both  State  and 
national    protection.     They  first  attacked   the  house  of 


7«  JOHN  SEVIER. 

a  Mr.  Biram,  on  Beaver  Creek,  and  killed  two  young 
men  in  the  neighborhood ;  and  then  they  scattered,  to 
spread  hayoc  throughout  the  settlements.  Many  of 
the  settlers  fell  back  at  once  to  stations  higher  up  the 
Holston  ;  others  collected  behind  hastily  constructed  de- 
fenses, in  hopes  to  hold  their  ground  till  Sevier  could 
come  to  their  rescue. 

Their  messengers  found  Sevier  eighty  miles  away,  at 
his  home  on  the  Nolichucky.  He  heard  the  tidings 
without  surprise,  for  hostile  action  was  daily  looked 
for  from  the  Indians.  This  might  be  a  mere  raid  to 
drive  off  the  intruding  settlers,  or  it  might  be  the 
signal  for  an  expected  general  savage  uprising  along 
the  entire  border.  Whichever  it  was,  Sevier  did  not 
pause  to  reflect  upon  it,  or  to  question  if  he  should 
come  in  conflict  with  United  States  authority.  His 
old  comrades  were  in  danger,  and  that  was  enough  to 
bring  Nolichucky  Jack  to  the  rescue.  Without  stop- 
ping to  call  in  his  militia,  he  sprang  at  once  into  the 
saddle,  and,  with  only  the  half-dozen  men  who  were 
about  him,  was  in  a  few  hours  on  his  way  to  the 
border  as  fast  as  his  fleet  bay  mare— the  nimblest- 
footed  animal  in  the  territory — could  carry  him. 

The  attack  had  been  made  on  the  20th  of  July ; 
and  on  the  23d,  gathering  his  force  as  he  rode  along, 
Sevier,  with  one  hundred  and  sixty  of  his  men,  was 
at  Houston's  Station,  midway  between  Little  Kiver  and 
the  Little  Tennessee,  and  only  twelve  miles  from  the 
Indian   towns  on    the    Tellico.       The   messengers  had 


THE   BEGINNING  OF  TROUBLES.  77 

ridden  eighty  miles,  Sevier  one  hundred  and  ten,  mus- 
tering meanwhile  this  body  of  riflemen,  within  the  space 
of  three  days  I     It  was  by  such  celerity  of  movement 
that  he  utterly  disconcerted  his  savage  enemies.     ^Yhile 
they  looked  for  him  in  one  quarter,  he  was  miles  away 
in  another-in  the  Indian  rear,  or  in  the  very  heart  of 
their  country.     But  he  never  moved  without  a  well-con- 
sidered plan  ;  and  now  as  he  rode  along  he  heard  that 
the  Cherokees  were  being  held  at  bay  by  the  Holston 
settlers,   posted   behind    their   hastily    constructed    de- 
fenses.     He  knew  the  men,  and,  knowing  them,  felt 
sure  they  could  hold  out  till  his   regular  militia  had 
time  to  come  to   their  rescue.     One  of  his  brigadiers, 
General   Cocke,  could   be  thoroughly  depended  upon. 
He  was  the  same  who  had  been,  in  1776,  when  a  cap- 
tain of  militia,  the  first  to  suggest  that  the  one   hun- 
dred and  seventy  men  who  held  Fort  Patrick   Henry, 
should  march  from  behind  their  log  walls   to  win,  in 
the  open  field,  the  battle  of   Long  Island  Flats.     On 
his  rapid  way  Sevier  sent  back  word  to  Cocke  to  mus- 
ter a  force  as  quickly  as  he  could,  and  hasten  to  the 
rescue  of  the  settlers.     Then  he  pushed  on  to   Hous- 
ton's, thirty  miles  in  the  rear  of  the  raiding  Cherokees. 
Arrived  at  Houston's,  Sevier  gave  his  men  a  night's 
rest,   and  then  he  plunged  at  once  with  his  slender 
force  into  the  very  heart  of  the  Indian  country.     The 
war  they   were  visiting  upon   the  homes  of  the  whites 
he  would  carry  to  the  wigwams  of  the  Cherokees,  and 
it  would  go  hard   if  they  did  not  pay  for  this  raid, 


78  JOHN  SEVIER. 

with  interest  trebly  compounded.  To  appreciate  the 
boldness  of  this  movement,  it  needs  to  be  understood 
that  the  body  of  raiders  now  in  Sevier's  rear  numbered 
not  less  than  five  hundred,  and  that  he  was  advancing 
in  the  face  of  twenty-five  hundred  active  warriors,  who 
would  soon  surround  him,  and  might  ambush  every 
pass  by  which  he  could  return  to  the  settlements ;  for 
he  was  entering  a  mountain-region,  covered  with  for- 
est, and  broken  into  narrow  defiles,  where  a  handful 
could  dispute  the  passage  of  a  thousand — which  defiles 
were  often  the  only  passable  route  for  a  body  of  horse- 
men. The  movement  was  extremely  perilous,  and,  for 
any  other  man  to  attempt  it,  would  have  been  the 
height  of  temerity.  But  there  seems  to  have  been 
some  magic  about  Sevier  which  gave  success  to  the 
most  desperate  enterprises  ;  and  he  had  himself  come 
to  believe  in  his  own  invincibility,  l^his  and  other 
exploits  of  his  would  be  incredible  were  they  not  fully 
verified  as  authentic  history. 

Leaving  the  Cherokee  villages  along  the  Tellico  upon 
his  flank,  Sevier  forded  the  Little  Tennessee  at  Island 
Town,  crossed  the  Tellico  Plains,  and  then,  scaling  the 
Smoky  Mountains,  fell  upon  what  were  known  as  the 
valley  towns,  along  the  Hiwassee.  Three  of  these  he  at 
once  destroyed,  killing  fifteen  warriors.  The  rest  of  the 
Indians  fled  panic-stricken  into  the  forest  and  the  neigh- 
boring highlands,  leaving  their  homes,  as  they  supposed, 
to  certain  destruction.  But  Sevier  now  held  his  hand. 
He  had  done  enough  to  requite  ten  to  one  the  raid  of 


THE   BEGINNIN'G   OF  TROUBLES.  79 

the  savages,  and  to  deter  them  from  further  aggression  ; 
and  he  never  wantonly  destroyed  lives  or  property. 
Besides,  prudence  demanded  that  he  should  make  his 
way  out  from  the  savage  cordon  by  which  he  was  encir- 
cled before  the  warriors  could  concentrate  and  effectu- 
ally obstruct  his  progress. 

To  give  his  troops  a  night's  rest,  he  went  into  camp, 
in  one  of  the  abandoned  Indian  villages,  sending  out 
trusty  scouts  to  scour  the  country,  and  see  that  it  was 
clear  of  any  body  of  the  enemy.  The  scouts  soon  re- 
turned, reporting  that  they  had  struck  the  trail  of  a 
large  number  of  the  enemy.  Instantly  every  horse  was 
bridled  and  every  rifleman  was  in  his  saddle.  Follow- 
ing the  lead  of  the  scouts,  they  soon  struck  the  Indian 
trail,  which  Sevier's  experienced  eye  at  once  saw  was  that 
of  fully  a  thousand  men,  commanded,  as  he  surmised,  by 
John  Watts,  the  most  cunning  and  daring  of  all  the 
Cherokee  leaders.  Sevier  knew  him  well.  Watts  having 
once  guided  him  to  the  destruction  of  the  Chickamauga 
towns  ;  and  he  did  not  court  a  conflict  with  this  redoubt- 
able Indian  chief,  backed  by  a  force  six  to  his  one,  and 
with  rugged  defiles  and  mountains  a  mile  high  between 
him  and  the  settlements.  The  route  taken  by  Watts  was 
the  one  Sevier  would  naturally  have  followed.  It  led 
through  a  narrow  ravine  where,  doubtless,  the  wily  half- 
breed  now  lay  in  wait  for  the  whites,  concealed  in  the 
forest  undergrowth.  Sevier  divined  this,  and,  turning 
his  horse's  head,  he  led  his  men  back  to  the  encamp- 
ment.    There,  setting  a  strong  picket  to  guard  against 


80  JOHN  SEVIER. 

surprise,  he  gave  liis  weary  troop  a  few  hours'  rest,  and 
then  in  utter  silence,  before  the  break  of  day,  he  led  his 
men,  by  an  unfrequented  route,  up  and  over  the  tall  and 
rugged  Unakas,  and  turned  his  back  upon  his  enemies. 

This  intrepid  raid  of  Sevier  into  the  heart  of  their 
country  struck  terror  among  the  Cherokees,  and  led  the 
marauders  along  the  Hols  ton  to  retreat  hastily  to  their 
homes  upon  the  Tellico.  Hie  end  thus  accomplished, 
Sevier  led  his  little  force,  without  the  loss  of  a  single 
man  or  a  single  horse,  back  to  the  settlements. 

Meanwhile,  General  Cocke  had  not  been  inactive. 
The  messengers  of  Sevier  reached  him  on  the  23d,  the 
day  of  his  own  arrival  at  Houston's  Station.  Muster- 
ing at  once  two  hundred  and  fifty  men,  Cocke  set  out 
without  delay  to  the  relief  of  the  Holston  settlers ;  but 
hearing  of  his  approach,  and  of  the  advance  of  Sevier 
into  their  country,  the  Indians  hastily  fled,  leaving  the 
settlement  to  its  wonted  quiet.  Having  certain  infor- 
mation that  the  savages  who  had  killed  the  two  men 
were  mostly  from  along  the  Little  Tennessee  and  Tellico, 
Cocke  followed  at  once  upon  their  trail,  determined  to 
demand  them  from  Old  Tassel  for  summary  punishment. 
It  was  a  bold  movement,  but  Cocke  was  a  brave  man ; 
besides,  he  counted  on  the  dread  the  Cherokees  had  of 
Sevier,  and  the  panic  his  advance  had  already  spread 
among  the  warriors. 

Arriving  unmolested  at  what  is  still  known  as  'Chota 
Ford,  six  miles  from  Echota,  Cocke  sent  forward  a  pris- 
oner, inviting  the  chieftains  to  a  conference.     This  ford 


THE  BEGINNING   OF  TROUBLES.  81 

is  a  beautiful  spot,  fringed  with  low  hills,  that  are  still 
crowned  with  gigantic  oaks  and  poplars,  some  of  which 
have  looked  down  on  stirring  scenes,  for  they  stood  there 
w^hen  'Chota  Ford  was  the  gateway  into  the  Indian  coun- 
try ;  when  innumerable  red  warriors  w-aded  its  broad  but 
shallow  stream ;  w^ien  mounted  white  men  galloped 
across  it  to  hunt  those  warriors  in  their  mountain  lairs  ; 
and  when,  at  a  later  time,  ''  Old  Hickory  "  led  over  it 
his  three  thousand  Tennesseeans,  cutting  for  them  a 
swath  through  the  forest,  still  called  Jackson's  road, 
straight  as  an  arrow,  and  broad  as  any  boulevard  on  the 
continent.  But  all  these  things  have  passed  away,  and 
now  'Chota  Ford  is  as  still  as  a  churchyard,  except  at 
seasons  of  high  water,  when  an  old  negro,  crooning  a  low 
hymn,  ferries  travelers  over  the  river  at  a  dime  a  trip. 

To  this  quiet  spot  came  the  Cherokee  chieftains  on 
the  31st  of  July,  1786,  to  hold  a  ''talk"  with  the  pale- 
faces after  the  Indian  fashion.  Among  them  w^ere  Old 
Tassel,  Hanging  Maw,  and  other  noted  warriors,  all  be- 
decked in  leather  breeches  fringed  with  wampum,  and 
their  heads  crowned  with  eagle-plumes  or  the  tail  of  the 
rooster.  Conspicuous  by  his  absence  was  John  Watts, 
the  renowned  half-breed,  who  might  still  have  been  lying 
in  wait  in  that  narrow  defile  beyond  the  Unakas— waiting 
for  Sevier,  who  was  now  quietly  at  home  with  his  *'  bon- 
nie  Kate,"  in  his  shady  Mount  Pleasant,  far  away  on  the 
Kolichucky. 

The  Indians  were  grave,  dignified,  and  taciturn,  and 
their  manner  indicated  that  they  were  not  entirely  sure 


82  JOHN  SEVIER. 

that  John  Watts  had  not  at  last  entrapped  the  great 
eagle  of  the  pale-faces.  But  their  bearing  made  no  im- 
pression on  Cocke,  who  abruptly  opened  the  conference 
by  upbraiding  them  for  their  murders  and  robberies,  and 
their  flagrant  violation  of  the  treaty  with  the  people  of 
Franklin  ;  and  he  added  :  "  We,  in  plain  words,  demand 
from  you  the  murderers  who  have  killed  our  people ;  and 
all  the  horses  you  have  stolen  from  us,  and  from  the 
people  on  the  Kentucky  road  and  the  Cumberland. 
On  these  terms  we  will  be  brothers  with  you,  and  con- 
tinue so  until  you  do  more  murder  on  our  frontiers, 
when  we  will  come  down  and  destroy  the  town  that  does 
the  mischief.  On  these  terms  we  will  make  peace  with 
you,  and  be  friends.  If  not,  we  are  warriors.  It  is  what 
you  will." 

To  this,  straightening  up  his  bent  form,  with  all  the 
air  of  an  Indian  king,  Old  Tassel  answered  as  follows  : 
"  Now  I  am  going  to  speak  to  you,  brothers.  We  have 
smoked.  The  Great  Man  above  sent  the  tobacco.  It 
will  make  your  hearts  straight.  I  come  from  'Chota.  I 
see  you.  You  are  my  brothers.  I  am  glad  to  see  my 
brothers,  and  hold  them  fast  by  the  hand.  The  Great 
Man  above  made  us  both,  and  he  hears  the  talk.  They 
are  not  my  people  who  spilt  the  blood,  and  spoiled  the 
good  talk  a  little.  The  men  that  did  the  murder  are 
bad  men,  and  no  warriors.  They  are  gone,  and  I  can't 
tell  where  they  are  gone.  They  lived  in  Coytoy,  at  the 
mouth  of  Holston.  This  is  all  I  have  to  say.  The  Great 
Man  above  has  sent  you  this  white  talk  to  straight  your 


THE   BEGINNING   OF  TROUBLES.  83 

hearts  through.  I  give  you  tliis  pipe,  in  token  of  a 
straight  talk.  I  am  very  sorry  my  people  has  done 
wrong,  to  occasion  you  to  turn  your  backs.  A  little  talk 
is  as  good  as  much  talk  ;  too  much  is  not  good." 

To  this  Cocke  very  briefly  replied  that,  as  Old  Tassel 
was  not  disposed  to  give  up  the  murderers,  as  required 
by  tlie  treaty,  he  should  take  and  deal  with  them  him- 
self. He  should  go  at  once  to  Coytoy,  and  there,  if  they 
desired  any  further  talk,  the  chieftains  might  come  to 
him.  This  ended  the  conference,  and  Cocke  set  out  at 
once  for  Coytoy,  a  small  Indian  village  near  Southwest 
Point,  where  the  Clinch  and  Holston  unite  to  form  the 
broad  Tennessee.  He  had  scarcely  entered  the  place,  be- 
fore some  of  the  Holston  settlers  who  were  with  him  rec- 
ognized two  of  the  savages  as  being  with  the  party  that 
did  the  murders.  They  were  at  once  sent,  by  well- 
directed  rifle-shots,  to  the  happy  hunting-grounds,  and 
then  their  cabins  and  other  properties  were  destroyed, 
and  the  village  council-house,  in  which  the  raid  had  been 
planned,  was  sent  skyward  in  smoke  and  cinders.  But 
no  damage  was  done  to  other  portions  of  the  village,  the 
intention  being  to  impress  the  Indians  that  none  but  the 
guilty  would  be  punished. 

The  ruins  were  still  smoldering  when,  on  the  3d 
of  August,  Old  Tassel  and  his  principal  chiefs  entered 
the  village.  Among  them  now  was  John  Watts,  who 
had  brought  to  them  tidings  of  the  havoc  done  by  Sevier, 
and  of  his  escape  from  the  trap  which  he  had  laid  for 
him.     He  and  the  rest  were  entirely  subdued  and  crest- 


84:  JOHN"  SEVIER. 

fallen.  It  was  of  no  avail  to  fight  the  pale-face  chief, 
who  moved  like  the  wind  and  smote  like  the  whirlwind. 
This  they  said,  and  much  more  that  I  will  not  repeat, 
for  before  me  are  the  words  of  Old  Tassel :  "  A  little 
talk  is  as  good  as  much  talk ;  too  much  is  not  good." 
Suffice  it  to  say  that  the  Indians  agreed  to  give  up  the 
other  murderers  as  soon  as  they  could  be  secured,  and 
promised  to  live  in  perpetual  amity  with  their  white 
brothers.  One  of  Cocke's  officers,  visiting  them  not  long 
afterward,  reported  :  ^'  They  seem  very  friendly,  and  well 
satisfied  we  should  settle  the  country  ;  and  they  say  they 
will  sell  us  the  country  to  the  south  of  the  [Little]  Ten- 
nessee, if  we  will  keep  the  Creeks  from  killing  them  ;  or 
they  will  leave  the  country  entirely,  if  we  will  give  them 
goods  for  it ;  and  I  am  convinced,  from  their  late  con- 
duct, and  accounts  I  have  had  from  them,  that  the  whole 
country  to  the  Georgia  line,  on  this  side  of  Cumberland 
Mountain,  may  be  had  from  them  for  a  very  trifling 
sum."  All  which  might  have  come  to  pass,  but  for  the 
continued  and  obstinate  resistance  of  Xorth  Carolina  to 
Sevier's  government. 

Thus  the  well-directed  energy  of  Sevier  and  Cocke 
speedily  dispelled  the  war-cloud  which  had  gathered  over 
the  Cherokee  nation ;  but  there  still  remained  the  more 
portentous  cloud  which  overhung  the  whole  frontier, 
and  whose  scattered  forces  McGillivray,  at  the  behest  of 
Spain,  was  striving  to  gather  into  his  hand,  that  he 
might  hurl  them,  in  twenty  thousand  lightning-bolts, 
upon  all  the  border  settlements. 


CHAPTER  V. 


FKUITLESS   OVERTURES. 


Having  now,  for  a  time  at  least,  reduced  the  Chero- 
kees  to  peaceable  behavior,  Sevier  could  turn  his  atten- 
tion to  affairs  at  home.  They  were  not  in  an  entirely 
satisfactory  condition.  The  unnatural  marriage  between 
roistering  ambition  and  well-meaning  bigotry  was  already 
producing  a  progeny  of  evils,  young  yet,  and  incapable 
of  much  mischief,  but  bound  to  grow — as  all  evils  do — 
unless  strangled  in  their  infancy.  How  to  strangle  them 
was  now  the  question.  How  could  Sevier  do  .this  except 
by  conciliating  their  source  of  life  and  strength,  the  sa- 
pient Legislature  of  North  Carolina  ? 

He  had  made  overtures  to  that  body  for  a  friendly 
adjustment  of  affairs  at  its  previous  session  ;  but  his  mes- 
sengers had  been  repulsed,  and  denied  even  a  hearing. 
But  in  the  threatening  attitude  of  Indian  affairs  it  was 
now  iraj^ortant  that  all  pending  difficulties  should  be  ar- 
ranged with  North  Carolina,  and  hence  he  determined  to 
send  to  its  Legislature  again  other  messengers  —  men 
gifted  with  both  logic  and  the  art  of  persuasion — in  the 


86  JOHN   SEVIER. 

hope  of  bringing  about  an  honorable  adjustment.  For 
the  man  of  logic  he  chose  David  Campbell,  then  holding 
the  appointment  of  Chief-Justice  from  both  Franklin 
and  North  Carolina  ;  and,  for  the  man  of  rhetoric,  Will- 
iam Cocke,  the  same  who  had  recently  *' persuaded"  Old 
Tassel — for  General  Cocke  could  talk  as  well  as  light, 
and,  though  somewhat  blunt  and  plain-spoken,  could  so 
sugar-coat  his  words  as  to  make  them  palatable  to  any 
mind  not  blunted  by  prejudice  or  obstinate  ignorance. 
To  secure  these  commissioners  greater  consideration, 
Sevier  himself  addressed  Governor  Caswell  a  letter  in  ad- 
vance of  their  departure,  the  principal  portions  of  which 
were  as  follows  : 

"Mount  Pleasant,  Franklin,  2Sth  Octohei%  1786. 

"  Sir  :  Our  Assembly  has  again  appointed  commis- 
sioners to  wait  on  the  parent  State,  which  I  hope  will 
cheerfully  consent  to  the  separation  as  it  once  before 
did. 

''It  gives  us  inexpressible  concern  to  think  that  any 
disputes  should  arise  between  us,  more  especially  when 
we  did  not  in  the  first  instance  pray  the  separation, 
but  adopted  our  course  after  what  was  done  by  act  of 
your  Assembly.  We  humbly  conceived  we  should  do  no 
wrong  by  endeavoring  to  provide  for  ourselves  ;  neither 
had  we  the  most  distant  idea  that  the  cession  act  would 
be  repealed,  otherwise  matters  might  not  have  been  car- 
ried to  the  length  they  are.  The  propriety  of  the  repeal 
we  do  not  attempt  to  scrutinize,  but  permit  us  to  say  we 


FRUITLESS  OVERTURES.  87 

discover  many  embarrassments  both  parties  are  likely  to 
labor  under  in  consequence  of  it.  .  .  . 

**  I  hope  your  Assembly  will  take  under  their  serious 
consideration  our  present  condition,  and  we  flatter  our- 
selves that  august  body  will  not  submerge  in  ruin  so  many 
of  their  late  citizens,  who  have  fought  and  bled  in  behalf 
of  the  parent  State,  and  are  still  ready  to  do  so  again 
should  there  be  occasion.  Our  local  and  remote  situation 
is  the  only  reason  that  induces  us  to  wish  for  a  separa- 
tion. Your  Constitution  and  laws  we  revere,  and  we  con- 
sider ourselves  happy  that  we  have  had  it  in  our  power  to 
get  the  same  established  in  the  State  of  Franklin,  al- 
though it  has  occasioned  some  confusion  among  ourselves. 
AVc  do,  in  the  most  candid  and  solemn  manner,  assure 
you  that  we  do  not  wish  to  separate  from  you  on  any 
other  terms,  but  on  those  that  may, be  perfectly  consist- 
ent with  the  honor  and  interest  of  each  party ;  neither 
do  we  believe  there  are  any  among  us  who  would  wish 
for  a  separation,  did  they  believe  the  parent  State  would 
suffer  any  real  inconveniency  in  consequence  thereof.  We 
would  be  willing  to  stand  or  fall  together,  under  any 
dangerous  crisis  whatever.  .  .  . 

"We  can  not  be  of  opinion  that  any  real  advantages 
can  be  obtained  by  a  longer  connection.  Our  trade  and 
commerce  are  altogether  carried  on  with  other  States, 
therefore  neither  party  is  benefited  on  that  head  ;  and 
whether  it  can  be  suggested  that  the  business  of  govern- 
ment can  be  extended  from  five  to  eight  hundred  miles 
distance,  is  a  matter  I  leave  to  your  own  good  sense  to 


88  JOHN  SEVIER. 

judge  of  ;  and,  further,  it  can  not  be  supposed  that  the 
inhabitants  who  reside  at  that  distance  are  not  equally 
entitled  to  the  blessings  of  ci^il  government  with  their 
neighbors  who  live  east,  south,  or  at  any  other  point,  and 
not  one  fourth  of  the  distance  from  the  seat  of  govern- 
ment, and  who  enjoy  the  incomparable  advantages  of  the 
roads  and  other  easy  communications  you  have  on  the 
east  of  the  Appalachians." 

This  much  Sevier  had  written,  when  it  evidently  oc- 
curred to  him  that  Tipton,  in  his  seat  in  the  North  Caro- 
lina Senate,  would  be  in  a  position  to  throw  serious  ob- 
stacles in  the  way  of  any  negotiation,  and  he  added  :  "  I 
heartily  wish  your  Legislature  had  either  not  repealed  or 
never  passed  the  cession  act,  for  probably  it  may  occa- 
sion much  confusion,  especially  should  your  Assembly 
listen  too  much  to  prejudiced  persons,  though  this 
I  have  no  right  to  suggest.  I  fear  we  may  have  a 
sufficient  quarrel  on  our  hands  without  any  among 
ourselves. 

"I  am  authorized  to  say  that  no  people  can  think 
more  highly  of  your  government  than  those  who  want 
the  separation,  and  they  only  wish  it  to  answer  their 
better  conveniency  ;  but,  though  wanting  to  be  separated 
in  government,  they  wish  to  be  united  in  friendship,  and 
hope  that  mutual  good  offices  may  erer  pass  between  the 
parent  and  infant  State,  which  also  is  my  wish  and  de- 
sire." 

The  Legislature  of  North  Carolina  began  its  session 
early  in  November,  but  it  was  not  till  the  30th  of  that 


FRUITLESS   OVERTURES.  89 

month  that  General  Cocke  could  set  out  on  the  em- 
bassy, and  then  Judge  Campbell  was  confined  to  his 
liome  by  sickness.  He  could  not,  therefore,  accompany 
Cocke,  but,  instead,  he  sent  by  him  to  Governor  Caswell  a 
letter  to  be  laid  before  the  Assembly.  This  letter  throws 
so  much  light  upon  the  condition  of  things  in  Franklin, 
that  a  portion  of  it  is  here  quoted.  He  said:  ''If  we  set 
out  wrong,  or  were  too  hasty  in  our  separation,  this  coun- 
try is  not  altogether  to  blame  ;  your  State  pointed  out  the 
line  of  conduct  which  we  adopted ;  we  really  thought 
you  in  earnest  when  you  ceded  us  to  Congress.  If  you 
then  thought  we  ought  to  be  separate,  or  if  you  now 
think  we  ever  ought  to  be,  permit  us  to  complete  the 
work  that  is  more  than  half  done ;  suffer  us  to  give 
energy  to  our  laws  and  force  to  our  councils,  by  saying 
we  are  a  separate  and  independent  people,  and  we  will 
yet  be  happy.  I  suppose  it  will  astonish  your  Excellency 
to  hear  that  there  are  many  families  settled  within  nine 
miles  of  the  Cherokee  nation.  What  will  be  the  conse- 
quence of  those  emigrations  ?  Our  laws  and  government 
must  include  those  people,  or  they  will  become  danger- 
ous ;  it  is  vain  to  say  they  must  be  restrained.  Have  not 
all  America  extended  their  back  settlements  in  opposi- 
tion to  laws  and  proclamations  ?  The  Indians  are  now 
become  pusillanimous,  and  consequently  will  be  more 
and  more  encroached  upon  ;  they  must,  they  will  be,  cir- 
cumscribed. 

^'  It  was  not  from  a  love  of  novelty  or  the  desire  of 
title,  I  believe,  that  our  leaders  wore  induced  to  engage  in 


90  JOHN  SEVIER. 

the  present  reyolutiou,  but  from  pure  necessity.  We 
were  getting  into  confusion,  and  you  know  any  govern- 
ment is  better  than  anarchy.  Matters  will  be  different- 
ly represented  to  you,  but,  you  may  rely  on  it,  a  great 
majority  of  the  people  are  anxious  for  separation.  Na- 
ture has  separated  us;  do  not  oppose  her  in  her  work.  By 
acquiescing  you  will  bless  us,  and  do  yourself  no  injury  : 
you  will  bless  us  by  uniting  the  disaffected  ;  and  do  your- 
self no  injur}',  because  you  lose  nothing  but  peoj^le  who 
are  a  clog  on  your  goyernment,  and  to  whom  you  can 
not  do  equal  justice  by  reason  of  their  detached  situa- 
tion." 

The  foregoing  letters  of  Seyier  and  Campbell  were 
duly  laid  before  the  Legislature  by  Goyernor  Caswell, 
and  at  the  bar  of  that  body— whom,  by  a  great  stretch  of 
courtesy,  Seyier  termed  *^ august'' — General  Cocke  ap- 
peared early  in  December.  He  was  given  a  hearing,  and 
the  address  he  made  on  the  occasion  is  fully  reported  in 
Judge  Haywood's  '^History  of  Tennessee."  It  is  too 
lengthy  for  reproduction  here,  but  a  brief  s}Tiopsis  of  it 
can  scarcely  be  omitted,  inasmuch  as  it  giyes  a  clear  yiew 
of  the  situation  of  the  settlers,  as  seen  by  one  of  them- 
selyes  ;  and  expresses  the  sentiments  of  Seyier  and  of  all 
the  best  men  beyond  the  Alleghanies. 

General  Cocke  began  by  pathetically  depicting  the 
situation  of  his  distressed  countrymen.  He  ascribed  the 
separation,  as  had  Seyier  and  Campbell,  to  the  diflScult 
and  perilous  condition  in  which  the  western  settlers  had 
been  placed  by  the  act  of  cession  of  June,  1784.     They 


FRUITLESS  OVERTURES.  91 

were  surrouuded  by  hostile  savages,  who  often  commit- 
ted upon  them  the  most  shocking  barbarities  ;  and  by 
the  passage  of  that  act  they  suddenly  found  themselves 
without  the  ability  to  raise  or  subsist  troops  for  their 
protection,  *'  without  authority  to  levy  men,  without 
power  to  levy  taxes  for  the  support  of  internal  govern- 
ment, and  without  the  hope  that  any  of  their  necessary 
expenditures  would  be  defrayed  by  the  State  of  North 
Carolina,  which  had  then  become  no  more  interested  in 
their  safety  than  any  other  of  the  United  States.  .  .  . 
These  considerations  full  in  view,  what  were  the  people 
of  the  ceded  territory  to  do  to  avoid  the  blow  of  the  up- 
lifted tomahawk  ?  How  were  the  women  and  children 
to  be  rescued  from  the  impending  destruction  ?  Would 
Congress  come  to  their  aid  ?  Alas  !  Congress  had  not 
yet  accepted  them,  and  possibly  never  would."  And,  if 
it  did  accept  of  them,  it  would  take  time  to  deliberate 
upon  their  situation,  and  in  that  time  all  might  be  lost. 
"The  powers  of  Congress  were  too  feeble  to  enforce  con- 
tributions." Action  on  the  part  of  the  several  States 
would  have  to  be  voluntary  ;  and  would  they  be  willing 
to  burden  themselves  for  the  defense  of  a  people  not  con- 
nected with  them  by  any  ties  of  near  kindred  ?  And,  if 
they  gave  willing  aid,  might  it  not  be  too  limited  to  do 
any  good  ;  too  tardy  to  be  of  any  practical  service  ? 
What  were  the  settlers  to  do  in  such  circumstances  ? 
Would  common  prudence  justify  a  reliance  upon  such 
prospects  ?  Could  their  lives,  and  tlie  lives  of  their 
families,  be  staked  upon  them  ?    Immediate  and  press- 


92  JOHN  SEVIER. 

ing  necessity  called  for  the  power  to  concentrate  the 
scanty  means  they  possessed  to  save  themselves  from 
destruction.  "  A  cruel  and  insidious  foe  was  at  their 
doors.  Delay  was  but  another  name  for  death  ! "  They 
might  supinely  wait  for  events,  but  the  first  event  would 
be  the  yell  of  the  savage  through  all  the  settlements. 
Their  unpreparedness  would  be  sure  to  invite  attack,  for 
it  was  the  nature  of  the  savage  to  take  sudden  advantage 
of  the  weakness  of  an  enemy. 

And,  he  continued  :  "  The  hearts  of  the  people  of 
North  Carolina  should  not  be  hardened  against  their 
brethren,  who  have  stood  by  their  side  in  perilous  times, 
and  never  heard  their  cry  of  distress  without  instantly 
marching  to  their  aid.  They  have  bled  in  profusion  to 
save  you  from  bondage,  and  from  the  sanguinary  hands 
of  a  relentless  enemy,  whose  mildest  laws  for  the  punish- 
ment of  rebellion  are  beheading  and  quartering.  When, 
in  the  late  war,  driven  from  your  homes  by  the  presence 
of  that  enemy,  we  gave  to  many  of  you  a  sanctified 
asylum,  and  gladly  performed  the  duties  of  hospitality  to 
a  people  we  loved  so  dearly ;  and  every  hand  was  ready 
to  be  raised  for  your  protection.  .  .  . 

*^The  act  for  our  dismissal  was,  indeed,  recalled  in 
the  winter  of  1784.  What,  then,  was  our  condition  ? 
More  penniless,  defenseless,  and  unprepared,  if  possible, 
than  before,  and  under  the  same  necessity  to  meet  and 
consult  together  for  our  common  safety.  The  resources 
of  the  country  were  all  locked  up,  and  where  is  the  record 
that  shows  any  money  or  supplies  sent  to  us  ? — a  single 


FRUITLESS   OVERTURES.  93 

soldier  ordered  to  be  stationed  on  the  frontier,  or  any 
plan  formed  for  mitigating  tlie  horrors  of  our  exposed 
situation  ?  On  the  contrary,  the  savages  are  irritated 
by  the  stoppage  of  those  goods  which  were  promised  as 
compensation  for  the  lands  taken  from  them.  If  North 
Carolina  must  yet  hold  us  in  subjection,  it  should  at 
least  understand  to  what  a  state  of  distraction,  suffering, 
and  poverty  her  vacillating  conduct  lias  reduced  us  ;  and 
the  liberal  hand  of  generosity  should  be  widely  opened 
for  our  relief  from  the  pressure  of  our  present  circum- 
stances ;  all  animosity  should  be  laid  aside  and  buried 
in  deep  oblivion,  and  our  errors  be  considered  as  the  off- 
spring of  greater  errors  committed  by  yourselves.  Far 
from  your  hearts  should  be  the  unnatural  purpose  of 
adding  to  the  affliction  from  which  we  have  suffered  too 
much  already.  It  belongs  to  a  magnanimous  people  to 
give  attentive  consideration  to  circumstances  in  order  to 
form  a  just  judgment  upon  a  subject  so  much  deserving 
of  their  serious  meditation  ;  and,  having  formed  such  a 
judgment,  to  pursue  with  sedulous  anxiety  a  course  suit- 
able to  the  dignity  of  their  own  character,  consistent 
with  their  own  honor,  and  best  calculated  to  allay  that 
storm  of  distraction  in  which  their  hapless  children  have 
been  so  unexpectedly  involved.  If  the  mother  State 
shall^  judge  the  expense  of  our  adhesion  too  heavy  to 
be  borne,  let  us  remain  as  we  are,  to  support  our- 
selves by  our  own  exertions ;  if  otherwise,  let  the 
means  for  the  continuance  of  our  connection  be  sup- 
plied with  a  degree  of  liberality  that  will  demonstrate 
10 


94:  JOHN  SEVIER. 

sincerity  on  the  one  hand  and  secure  affection  on  the 
other." 

With  these  legislators  the  words  of  Cocke  could  find 
no  "fit  audience."  He  had  urged  that  the  *Miberal 
hand  of  generosity"  should  be  opened  for  the  relief  of 
the  western  settlers,  who,  let  it  be  remembered,  had, 
with  their  own  blood  and  treasure,  acquired  every  rood 
of  land  then  possessed  by  North  Carolina  beyond  the 
mountains.  With  grants  of  some  of  this  land  that  State 
had  paid  the  men  who  had  fought  for  her  in  the  Eevolu- 
tion,  and  from  sales  of  the  remainder  she  was  daily  in 
receipt  of  a  large  revenue.  But  all  this  these  legislators 
forgot,  or  did  not  care  to  remember.  Before  their  nar- 
row minds,  besotted  by  ignorance,  there  doubtless  arose 
the  vision  of  a  standing  army,  perhaps  a  thousand  strong, 
supported  by  North  Carolina  for  the  protection  of  the 
border.  Their  sole  political  maxim  was,  "Escape  your 
taxes,  and  keep  down  taxation,"  and  now  they  saw  that 
a  half-dollar,  perhaps  a  whole  one,  was  likely  to  be  ex- 
tracted from  every  one  of  their  pockets. 

But  all  men,  however  degraded,  have  some  sense  of 
justice.  No  human  being  ever  yet  committed  a  de- 
liberate wrong  without  inventing  for  himself,  or  having 
invented  for  him,  some  sophistical  excuse  to  conceal  its 
enormity  from  his  conscience.  These  legislators  had  at 
hand  embodied  sophistry  and  downright  falsehood  in  the 
"man  of  Belial,"  who  now  assured  them  that  these  tales 
of  Indian  atrocity  were  told  merely  to  frighten  money 
out  of  the  State  treasury  ;   that  the  settlers,  though  too 


FRUITLESS   OVERTURES.  95 

feeble  to  stand  alone,  were  well  enough  off  under  the 
sheltering  wing  of  INorth  Carolina ;  that  the  Cherokees 
were  copper-complexioned  Christians — wise  as  serpents, 
but  gentle  as  doves — and  altogether  harmless  if  their 
rights  were  not  encroached  upon  ;  and  that  all  that  was 
needed  to  restore  peace,  good  order,  and  a  delightful 
state  of  things  among  the  over-mountain  people,  was  to 
depose  their  factious  leaders,  and  put  new  and  loyal  men 
into  every  civil  and  military  office  in  the  Territory. 
Some  men  fit  for  such  positions  could  be  found  over 
there — among  whom  he  may  have  mentioned  himself, 
Martin,  and  other  of  his  boon  companions — but  the 
larger  number  might  be  drawn  from  among  the  friends 
of  the  legislators  in  North  Carolina. 

A  lie  may  prosper  if  there  is  no  one  by  to  contradict 
it,  and  it  accords  with  the  views  and  inclinations  of  its 
auditory.  There  was  no  one  present  to  expose  these 
falsehoods,  and  they  were  exactly  adapted  to  the  sordid 
views  of  these  legislators.  They  offered  also  an  agree- 
able salve  to  their  feebly  aroused  consciences,  and  con- 
sequently these  Solons  proceeded  to  trample  the  truth 
under  foot,  and  to  turn  and  rend  the  men  who  had 
uttered  it.  But  what  they  did  will  best  be  told  by 
quoting  from  a  letter  that  Governor  Caswell  wrote  to 
Sevier.     It  was  as  follows  : 

"KiNSTOX,  I'id  February,  1T8Y. 

''Sir  :  I  was  favored  with  your  letter  of  the  28th  of 
October,  on  the  subject  of  a  separate  and  independent 


96  JOHN  SEVIER. 

government  on  your  side  of  the  Appalachians,  which 
I  did  myself  the  honor  of  laying  before  the  General 
Assembly.  Their  resolutions  and  determinations  on 
that  subject,  I  had  flattered  myself  it  would  have  been 
in  my  power  to  have  forwarded  you  copies  of  by  this 
time.  It  must,  therefore,  suffice  that  I  acquaint  you  for 
the  present  that  the  Assembly,  from  the  representations  of 
persons  from  among  yourselves,  was  induced  to  believe  it 
was  proper  for  the  people  to  return  to  subjection  to  the 
laws  and  government  of  North  Carolina ;  that  they  are 
not  yet  of  strength  and  opulence  sufficient  to  support  an 
independent  State ;  that  they,  the  Assembly,  wish  to 
continue  the  benefits  and  protection  of  the  State  toward 
them  until  such  time  as  their  numbers  and  wealth  will 
enable  them  to  do  for  themselves.  .  .  . 

**  Thus,  sir,  you  have  in  substance,  as  far  as  I  recol- 
lect, the  amount  of  the  proceedings  of  the  Assembly, 
save  the  appointment  of  civil  and  military  officers  for  the 
three  old  and  a  new  county ;  the  brigade  to  be  com- 
manded by  Evan  Shelby,  Esq.  In  the  civil  department 
Judge  Campbell  is  reappointed  ;  and  the  representatives 
have  carried  out  commissions  for  the  county  ofiicers, 
civil  and  military.  I  have  not  a  doubt  but  a  new  gov- 
ernment may  be  shortly  established,  if  the  people  would 
unite,  submit  to  the  former  government,  and  petition  for 
a  separation.  This,  I  think,  is  the  only  constitutional 
mode,  and  I  firmly  believe,  if  pursued,  will  be  a  means 
of  effecting  a  separation  on  friendly  terms,  which  I  much 
wish." 


FRUITLESS  OVEPwTURES.  07 

More  distinctly  than  the  Governor  states  it,  the  Legis- 
lature had  declared  that  all  oflfices,  both  civil  and  mili- 
tary, whose  incumbents  had  exercised  authority  under 
the  new  State,  should  be  considered  vacant,  and  projier 
persons  should  be  ajipointed  to  fill  them  by  the  Assembly, 
and  they  be  at  once  commissioned  by  the  Governor  as  the 
law  directed.  This  removed  from  office  every  justice  of 
the  peace  and  every  commissioned  officer  in  every  regi- 
ment in  the  western  counties,  thus  at  one  blow  decapitat- 
ing Sevier's  government  and  depriving  the  country  of  ex- 
perienced civil  officers  whom  it  trusted,  and  of  military 
leaders  under  whom  it  had  served  for  years,  and  without 
wiiom  it  could  not  hope  to  be  safe  from  the  murderous 
incursions  of  the  Cherokees. 

Having  done  this,  the  Assembly  proceeded  to  fill  these 
offices  with  inexperienced  men,  the  most  of  whom  were 
non-residents,  unknown  to  the  people  of  Franklin,  and 
not  a  few  were  worthless  characters,  appointed  through 
the  favoritism  of  some  functionary  of  K'orth  Carolina. 
Colonels  for  Washington  and  Sullivan  Counties  they 
made  of  John  Tipton  and  his  creature,  George  Max- 
well ;  and  for  a  new  county — which  had  been  erected 
and  named  Hawkins — of  one  Hutchings,  a  hair-brained 
North  Carolinian,  without  the  coolness  of  judgment 
which  might  be  required  by  circumstances. 

Thus  did  Xorth  Carolina  do  her  utmost  to  alienate 
the  affections  of  the  western  settlers,  and  introduce 
among  them  such  elements  of  discord  as  might  incite 
to  actual  war,  which,  in  the  discordant  rel^^jolRKfchen 


T 


; 


98  JOHN  SEVIEPw. 

existing  between  the  yarious  States,  would  probably 
have  been  attended  by  wide-spread  and  disastrous  con- 
sequences. For  the  evil  would  not  have  been  confined 
to  that  narrow  arena.  A  small  fire,  carelessly  lighted  by 
some  idle  camper-out,  has  been  known  to  overspread  and 
overwhelm  a  mighty  forest. 


CHAPTER  VI. 

THE   CHOSEN   ALTERJfATIVE. 

The  *' sufficient  quarrel,"  to  which  Sevier  referred 
in  his  letter  to  Governor  Caswell,  was  a  vast  combina- 
tion which  the  Creek  chief,  McGillivray,  at  the  in- 
stance of  Spain,  had  been,  since  June,  1784,  striving  to 
form  among  the  Southwestern  Indians  for  the  extermi- 
nation of  the  Western  settlers.  Of  his  hostile  designs 
Sevier  had  early  intelligence,  and  in  May,  1786,  he 
wrote  to  Governor  Telfair,  of  Georgia,  apprising  him 
of  the  danger.  The  Governor  replied  that  the  Creeks 
were  constantly  harassing  the  Georgia  frontier ;  that 
he  was  attempting  to  negotiate  a  peace  with  them,  but 
was  fearful  a  war  was  inevitable  ;  and  he  suggested  that 
in  case  of  hostilities  there  should  be  co-operation  be- 
tween the  forces  of  Franklin  and  Georgia.  To  this 
Sevier  cordially  assented,  and  on  August  27,  1786,  Gov- 
ernor Telfair  dispatched  to  him  commissioners,  with 
his  appointment  as  brigadier-general  in  the  army  of 
Georgia,  and  a  letter  in  which  he  represented  tliat  it 
would  "be  greatly  to  the  success  of  both  armies  to 
besn'n  their  movements  at  one  and  the  same  time,"  and 


100  JOHN  SEVIER. 

suggesting  the  1st  of  Noyember  as  the  date  for  march- 
ing. 

The  reception  which  Sevier  gave  the  Georgia  com- 
missioners may  be  gathered  from  a  letter  addressed  to 
Governor  Telfair  by  Major  Elholm,  a  distinguished 
Polish  officer  of  Pulaski's  Legion,  who  happened  to  be 
then  in  Franklin.  Murray's  Grammar  was  not  at  that 
time  in  existence,  and  English  was  not  the  major's 
vernacular  language ;  nevertheless,  he  expresses  himself 
with  sufficient  force  and  clearness.  His  letter  was  as 
follows  : 

"Governor  Setier's,  Franklin,  September  SO,  1786. 

*'Sir:  I  does  myself  the  honour  to  inform  your 
Excellency  that  your  commissioners  set  out  from  this 
the  28th  inst.,  by  the  way  of  Kentucky  and  Cumber- 
land. They  were  received  very  politely  by  his  Excel- 
lency the  Governor,  from  whose  zeal  for  to  assist  you, 
aided  by  the  inclination  of  the  Franks,  I  am  fully 
convinced  your  embassy  will  meet  all  wished  success 
by  the  Assembly  of  this  State,  which  is  ordered  to 
assemble  12th  next,  by  his  Excellency's  command,  in 
consequence  thereof.  Several  of  the  inhabitants  have 
waited  on  the  Governor,  for  to  be  informed  of  the 
contents  of  the  embassy  from  Georgia.  And  when 
being  acquainted  therewith,  it  gave  me  great  pleasure 
to  find  no  other  apprehension  appeared,  but  that  of 
making  peace  with  the  Creeks  without  fighting,  by 
which   occasion,  they  said,  so  favourable  a  chance  for 


THE  CHOSEN   ALTERNATIVE.  101 

humbling  that  nation  would  fall  dormant.  The  Gov- 
ernor, in  order  that  the  Americans  may  reap  a  benefit 
from  the  dread  the  Cherokees  and  Chickasaws  feels 
for  the  displeasure  and  power  of  the  Franks,  he  has 
dispatched  letters  to  them,  offering  them  protection 
against  the  Creek  nation,  with  condition  that  they  join 
him. 

*' Cumberland  (Robertson's  colony),  it  seems,  has 
at  this  time  in  contemplation  to  join  in  government 
with  the  Franks.  If  so,  so  much  the  better,  and  it 
would  surely  be  their  interest  so  to  do,  as  they  are  yet 
few  in  numbers,  and  often  harassed  by  the  Indians. 

*' Judging  from  apparent  circumstances,  you  may 
promise  yourself  one  thousand  riflemen  and  two  hun- 
dred cavalry,  excellently  mounted  and  accoutred,  from 
this  State,  to  act  in  conjunction  with  Georgia. 

''Governor  Sevier  has  received  letters  from  the  prin- 
cipal men  in  Cumberland,  which  inform  him  of  a  con- 
vention held  lately  at  that  place,  when  commissioners 
were  chosen  by  the  people  with  power  for  to  join  with 
the  Franks  in  their  government. 

"Mr.  John  Tipton's  party,  which  is  against  the 
party  of  the  new  government,  seems  deep  in  decline 
at  present,  which  proves  very  favourable  to  the  em- 
bassy from  Georgia." 

The  Franklin  Legislature  came  together  on  the  call 
of  Sevier,  on  the  12th  of  October,  and  at  once  passed 
an  act  authorizing  the  Governor  to  call  out,  for  imme- 


102  JOHN  SEVIER. 

diate  service,  oue  fourth  of  the  militia,  and  to  hold 
the  entire  force  in  readiness  to  repel  any  attack  from 
the  Indians. 

The  troops  thus  called  for  were  at  once  enrolled, 
and  held  in  readiness  to  march  on  the  demand  of 
Georgia;  but  they  were  not  dispatched  immediately  to 
the  frontier,  because  McGillivray  promptly  disavowed 
the  acts  of  his  marauding  followers,  and  expressed  a 
desire  for  peace  with  the  Georgians.  This  proposal 
was  merely  a  subterfuge  to  gain  time  for  more  effi- 
cient preparation,  and  to  make  certain  of  the  co-opera- 
tion of  the  Cherokees.  It  was  so  understood  by  Sevier, 
who  now  made  ready  his  entire  militia  for  what  was 
generally  believed  to  be  a  more  formidable  war  than 
any  that  had  yet  threatened  the  western  settlements. 
Thus  the  country  remained — in  daily  expectation  of 
attack  from  twelve  thousand  combined  Creeks,  Semi- 
noles,  and  Cherokees — until  the  ensuing  March  (1787), 
and  then  came  to  Sevier  the  already  quoted  letter 
from  Governor  Caswell,  which  informed  him  that  the 
Legislature  of  North  Carolina  had  decapitated  every 
officer  of  his  government,  from  himself,  the  highest, 
down  to  the  lowest  civil  and  military  official.  This 
action  could  not  be  mistaken.  It  meant  "rule  or 
ruin"  to  North  Carolina  or  to  Franklin,  and  perhaps 
to  both.  Another  forward  step  on  the  part  of  Sevier 
would  be  downright,  defiant  rebellion.  This  he  fully 
understood,  and  when  he  took  it  he  was  prepared  to 
meet,  all  the  consequences  of  his  action. 


THE  CHOSEN  ALTERNATIVE.  103 

It  was  a  momentous  crisis  in  Sevier's  career,  and  in 
that  also  of  the  nearly  thirty  thousand  people  whose 
well-being  and  safety  dejiended  upon  his  continuing  to 
be  their  leader.  Only  two  courses  were  open  to  him — 
either  submission  or  open  rebellion  ;  and  that  he  fully 
appreciated  the  gravity  of  his  position  is  shown  by  the 
fact  that  he  took  no  less  than  thirty  days  to  decide 
upon  his  action.  lie  decided  upon  rebellion ;  but,  in 
doing  so,  I  think  it  will  be  seen  that  he  was  actuated 
by  the  same  disinterested  patriotism  which  had  so 
often  before  led  him  to  hazard  his  all  for  the  good 
of  his  countr}'. 

To  judge  correctly  of  his  subsequent  course,  it  is 
necessary  to  take  a  brief  view  of  the  circumstances  by 
which  he  was  now  surrounded.  The  country  was  feeling 
the  effects  of  the  Spanish  imbroglio  which,  from  1784 
to  1796,  harassed  the  Western  settlers  and  endangered 
the  continuance  of  the  Union.  A  full  account  of  this 
perilous  complication  falls  more  appropriately  into  a 
life  of  Robertson  than  into  one  of  Sevier,  but  a  brief 
view  of  it  must  here  be  taken,  because  it  rested  with 
Sevier,  more  than  with  any  other  man,  to  decide  whether 
the  Spanish  proposals  should  be  accepted  or  rejected 
by  the  Western  settlers. 

For  a  brief  period  Spain-  had  shaken  off  the  leth- 
argy in  which  she  had  been  sunk  for  more  than  a  cent- 
ury. Recalling  her  former  greatness,  her  able  and  far- 
sighted  king,  Charles  III,  had  asserted  for  her  again  a 
voice  among  European  nations,  and  he  had  resolved  to 


104  JOHN  SEVIER. 

infuse  new  life  into  her  vast  possessions  beyond  the 
Atlantic.  To  exalt  Spain,  and  cripple  the  world-power 
of  Great  Britain,  he  had  joined  with  France  in  aiding 
the  revolted  colonies  to  achieve  their  independence ; 
and  he  had  planned  the  erection  of  a  great  empire  in 
America,  a  new  Spain,  to  extend  from  the  Alleghanies 
to  the  Pacific,  with  New  Orleans  as  its  capital  and 
chief  port  of  entry.  All  the  vast  region  beyond  the 
Mississippi  was  then  Spanish  property.  Sj)ain  also 
held  Florida,  and  the  mouths  of  the  great  river,  and 
claimed  so  much  of  the  territory  east  of  it  as  is  west 
of  the  eastern  angle  of  the  Gulf  of  Mexico,  and  the 
Hiwassee,  Clinch,  and  Tennessee  Eivers — that  is  to  say, 
nearly  all  of  the  present  States  of  Alabama  and  Missis- 
sippi, so  much  of  Tennessee  as  lies  west  of  those  rivers, 
and  a  considerable  portion  of  Kentucky  to  its  northern 
boundary  on  the  Ohio.  This  vast  region  Charles  III 
designed  should  be  a  great  mediaeval  empire,  free  from 
the  intrusion  of  Anglo-Saxon  ideas,  and  a  strong  bul- 
wark to  Catholic  Christianity.  He  had  overlooked 
the  insignificant  settlements  on  the  Watauga  and  in 
Kentucky  ;  but  the  war  which  crippled  Great  Britain 
was  no  sooner  over  than  he  awoke  to  the  fact  that, 
while  he  had  been  intent  upon  crushing  one  enemy, 
another  had  sprung  into  life — an  enemy  fewer  in  num- 
bers but  far  more  dangerous,  because  nearer  home,  and 
already  proclaiming  civil  and  religious  liberty  at  the 
very  doorway  of  his  dominions. 

Instantly  the   Spanish   king  prepared  to  crush   this 


THE  CHOSEN   ALTERNATIVE.  105 

new  enemy.  To  extirpate  and  drive  back  the  western 
settlers,  lie  instructed  his  Governor  of  Louisiana  and 
West  Florida,  Don  Estephan  Miro,  to  arm  the  Indians, 
and  incite  them  to  a  war  of  extermination  against  the 
colonists  ;  and,  to  discourage  further  settlements  beyond 
the  mountains,  he  announced  to  the  United  States  Gov- 
ernment that  under  no  circumstances  would  he  consent 
to  the  navigation  of  the  Mississippi  by  the  Americans. 
Thus  shut  out  from  the  markets  of  the  world,  no  sane 
Virginian  or  New-Englander  would  think  of  erecting 
his  domicile  beyond  the  Alleghanies.  80  Charles  III 
thought,  and  he  was  sanguine  that  twenty  thousand 
native  warriors,  armed  and  backed  by  Spain,  would 
make  short  work  with  the  handful  of  heretics  who 
had  already  ventured  beyond  the  mountains. 

But  Charles  III  had  overestimated  the  strength  of 
his  allies,  and  underestimated  that  of  his  enemies.  Of 
these  twenty  thousand  warriors,  seven  thousand  were 
Choctaws  and  Chickasaws,  who  had  been  won  over  to 
the  Americans  through  the  friendship  for  Robertson  of 
Piomingo,  the  Chickasaw  king  ;  and  nearly  three  thou- 
sand were  Cherokees,  who  were  paralyzed  by  the  pacific 
disposition  of  Old  Tassel,  and  a  dread  of  John  Sevier's 
rifles.  The  remainder  of  this  savage  force,  namely,  six 
thousand  Creeks,  two  thousand  Seminoles,  and  two 
thousand  Chickamaugas,  were,  indeed,  pledged  to  the 
Spanish  king  by  a  treaty  between  Alexander  McGilliv- 
ray,    the    Creek  chief,    and    Governor    Miro,    made   at 

Pensacola,  on  June  1,   1784 ;  but  the  Creek  chief  had 
11 


106  JOHX  SEVIER. 

ever  since  feared  to  meet,  without  the  aid  of  the  other 
tribes,  the  combined  forces  of  the  settlers.  This  aid, 
however,  he  had  hoped,  and  still  did  hope,  to  get ;  and 
meanwhile  he  was  showing  his  zeal  for  Spain,  and  keep- 
ing alive  the  spirit  of  his  warriors,  by  constant  raids 
upon  Robertson,  who,  at  one  time,  with  but  seventy 
men,  and  with  never  more  than  a  thousand,  had  for 
seven  years  held  at  bay,  or  beaten  off,  these  nations  of 
savages. 

And  the  Kentucky  settlements,  which  in  1779  had 
numbered  only  one  hundred  and  seventy-six  white 
men,  now  (1787)  contained  a  population  of  not  less  than 
thirty  thousand  souls,  and  a  like  number  were  on  the 
Holston  and  Watauga  under  Sevier,  and  fully  seven 
thousand  on  the  Cumberland  under  Robertson.  Al- 
lowing for  the  usual  excess  of  men  over  women  in  all 
new  settlements,  this  population  of  nearly  seventy  thou- 
sand would  have  furnished  at  least  eighteen  thousand  rifle- 
men, not  a  man  of  whom  would  passively  submit  to  be 
exterminated.  They  were  more  than  a  match  for  double 
their  number  of  Indians,  and  consequently  the  design 
of  the  Spanish  king  was  impossible  of  execution. 

These  facts  came  at  last  to  the  knowledge  of  Charles 
III,  and  then  his  policy  underwent  a  sudden  change 
from  one  of  hostility  to  one  of  conciliation  and  broth- 
erly kindness.  He  sought  no  longer  to  exterminate  the 
settlers,  but  to  get  them  under  his  control,  by  inducing 
them — if  he  could  not  otherwise  do  it — to  establish  an 
independent  republic  between  the  Alleghanies  and  the 


THE   CHOSEN  ALTERNATIVE.  107 

Mississippi,  under  his  protection.  This  would  dismem- 
ber and  weaken  the  Union,  and  prevent  it  ever  becom- 
ing a  power  great  enough  to  endanger  the  safety  of 
his  Xorth  American  possessions.  It  would  also  close 
forever  the  western  half  of  this  continent  to  the  en- 
trance of  Anglo-Saxon  civilization. 

This  separation  the  Spanish  king  proposed  to  bring 
about  by  showing  the  colonists  the  vast  advantages 
they  would  derive  from  a  Spanish  alliance,  and  by 
fostering  the  dissatisfaction  which  was  fast  growing  up 
among  them  toward  the  seaboard  States.  To  this  end 
he  relaxed  the  rigor  of  his  embargo  upon  the  Missis- 
sippi, though  he  exacted  such  duties  on  passing  and 
landed  produce  as  would  leave  all  profits  in  the  hands 
of  his  underlings.  Many  of  the  settlers  availed  them- 
selves of  this  commercial  opening,  and  tested  the  fact 
that  tobacco,  worth  at  home  but  two  dollars  per  hun- 
dred, found  a  ready  market  in  New  Orleans  at  nine 
dollars  and  fifty  cents ;  and  they  saw  that  with  such 
returns  their  smiling  Kentucky  and  Cumberland  valleys, 
where  the  ^'fragrant  weed"  lay  rotting  on  the  ground, 
would  speedily  be  transformed  into  a  vast  El  Dorado— 
aland  of  the  ^^  golden  leaf  "—if  only  the  onerous  duty 
were  once  removed. 

Upon  this  the  Western  people  demanded  of  Con- 
gress that  it  should  effect  such  a  treaty  with  Spain  as 
would  give  them  free  trade  upon  the  Mississippi.  In 
answer  to  this,  Congress  replied:  '^  We  have  negotiated 
to  that  end  since  1784 ;  but  the   Spaniards  refuse  to 


108  JOHN  SEVIER. 

listen  to  any  proposals  for  the  opening  of  that  river. 
Its  free  navigation  was  ceded  to  ns  by  Great  Britain, 
and  you  have  a  natural  right  to  it ;  but  it  can  not  be 
had  without  a  war  with  Spain,  and  for  that  the  coun- 
try is  not  now  prepared.  That  point  ignored,  we  can 
form  an  advantageous  treaty  with  that  nation — one 
that  will  revive  trade,  bring  in  gold  and  silver,  and 
thus  relieve  our  national  embarrassments.  Therefore, 
the  navigation  had  better  be  waived  for  the  moment. 
It  is  not  needed  by  you  at  present.  You  are  too  few 
in  numbers  to  require  a  foreign  commerce ;  and  you 
have  no  more  surplus  coin  and  tobacco  than  can  be 
consumed  by  incoming  settlers.  When  you  and  the 
country  are  stronger,  we  shall  be  able  to  demand  and 
enforce  the  free  navigation  of  that  river." 

The  above  is,  in  effect,  what  the  settlers  gathered 
as  to  the  acts  and  intentions  of  Congress,  and  on  the 
heels  of  it  came  the  report  that  John  Jay,  the  U.  S.  Sec- 
retary of  State,  had  recommended  to  that  body,  in  secret 
session,  the  making  of  a  treaty  with  Spain,  which 
would  concede  her  right  to  control  the  Mississippi, 
and  close  it  for  twenty  years  to  American  commerce ; 
and  that  seven  of  the  States — only  nine  being  required 
to  ratify  a  treaty— had  voted  in  favor  of  this  con- 
cession. 

The  tidings  excited  intense  indignation  throughout 
the  Western  country.  Never  before  had  8uch  excite- 
ment been  known  there,  not  even  when  the  savages 
were  pouring  in  resistless  numbers  upon  the  weU-nigh 


THE  CHOSEN  ALTERNATIVE.  109 

defenseless  settlements.       The  settlers  saw   themselves 
shut    out    from    the  civilized   world,   and    left   at    the 
mercy    of    a    foreign    nation.      With    their   barns  and 
warehouses   filled    to   overflowing,    they  had   no  outlet 
for   their  produce.      They   had   a   natural    right    to   a 
route   to   the   sea,    and    they   were   now  to    be    denied 
that  right,  simply  to  fill  the  already  plethoric  pockets 
of  the  Eastern  traders.     The  wrongs  which  had  brought 
about  the  revolt  from  Great  Britain  were  not  near  so 
great  nor  half  so  gaUing  as  these.      Was  it  for  this 
they  had  fought  the  Indians,  and  made  in  the  wilder- 
ness a  highway  for  freedom— to  be   themselves  bound 
hand  and°foot,  at  the  wiU  of  the  ruffled-shirted  gentry 
on  the  seaboard  ?    Such  injustice  could  not  and  would 
not  be  borne.     They  would   throw  off  their  allegiance 
to   the   Central  Government,  set  up  a  government  of 
their  own,  and,  if  need  were,   with  their  eighteen  or 
twenty   thousand  riflemen,  they  would   force  a  passage 
to  the  sea.     This  was  the  language  now  heard  in  every 
hut  and  every  hamlet  from  the  Watauga  to  the  most 
remote  district  in  Kentucky. 

And  this  language  was  pleasant  to  the  ears  of  the 
Spanish  king.  It  was  to  arouse  just  this  feeling  that 
he  had  instructed  his  envoy,  Gardoqui,  to  decline  to 
open  to  the  United  States  the  navigation  of  the  Mis- 
sissippi ;  and  quickly  he  seized  upon  this  opportunity 
to  sever  the  Western  people  from  the  Union.  Through 
Miro  he  now  said  to  Robertson  and  other  of  the  West- 
ern leaders:    **We  will   freely  grant  to   you   what  we 


110  JOHN  SEYIER. 

have  refused  to  the  trading  aristocracy  od  the  Atlantic. 
We  will  admit  your  produce  to  our  ports  free  from  all 
duty,  and  give  you  in  perpetuity  unobstructed  naviga- 
tion of  the  Mississippi.  We  will  call  off,  and,  if  need 
be,  drive  off,  the  Indians  from  harassing  you.  We  will 
release  to  you  all  claim  that  we  have  to  the  territory 
which  you  occupy ;  and  we  will  stand  by  you  like  lov- 
ing brothers,  with  sword  and  bayonet  and  heavy  artil- 
lery, if  you  will  but  cut  loose  from  the  Eastern  shop- 
keepers, and  set  up  for  yourselves  a  free  and  independ- 
ent republic  in  this  glorious  valley  of  the  Mississippi." 
The  above  is  the  purport  of  the  declaration  of  the 
Spanish  king,  and  we  may  easily  imagine  how  it  was 
generally  received  among  a  people  bleeding  from  the 
wounds  of  an  interminable  savage  warfare,  and  smart- 
ing under  what  seemed  to  them  the  unmerited  neglect 
and  indifference  of  the  General  Government.  Robert- 
son had  been  in  frequent  correspondence  with  Miro 
since  1782.  He  had  reason  to  consider  him  a  high- 
toned,  kind-hearted  Castilian  gentleman,  who  resorted 
to  the  employment  of  savages,  not  from  cruelty,  but 
from  state  policy ;  and  he  had  sought  to  conciliate  his 
good- will,  and  mitigate  the  savage  warfare  upon  his 
settlement,  by  giving  the  name  of  '^Miro  District"  to 
the  Cumberland  region  when,  in  1783,  it  was  set  off 
from  Watauga  by  North  Carolina.  The  compliment 
had  won  for  Eobertson  the  decided  friendship  of  the 
Spanish  governor,  though  it  did  not  induce  him  to 
obstruct  the  policy  of  his  sovereign ;  and   now,  when 


THE  CHOSEN  ALTERNATIVE.  m 

that  policy  had  undergone  a  radical  change,  Robertson 
was  the  first  to  whom  it  was  communicated.  By  Rob- 
ertson these  proposals  were  at  once  forwarded  to  Sevier, 
and  they  came  to  Sevier  just  at  the  time  when  Governor 
Caswell  apprised  him  that  the  North  Carolina  Legisla- 
ture had  swept  both  himself  and  his  government  from 
political  existence. 

I  have  not  been  able  to  discover  Sevier's  answer  to 
these  Spanish  overtures.  Ilis  subsequent  course  shows 
that  it  must  have  been  a  decided  refusal ;  but  the  folr 
lowing  extract  from  a  letter  to  him  from  the  heroic 
Elijah  Clarke,  of  Georgia,  makes  it  evident  that  he  was 
deeply  interested  in  the  project  of  opening  the  Missis- 
sijipi  to  Western  commerce.  Clarke  had  been  Sevier's 
devoted  friend  ever  since  the  time  when,  in  1780,  he 
had  found  a  refuge  at  his  house  on  the  Nolichucky, 
and  now  under  date  of  Augusta,  February  11,  1787, 
he  wrote  to  him  as  follows  : 

**  Dear  Sir  :  I  received  your  favor  by  Major  El- 
holm,  who  informed  me  of  your  health.  Assure  your- 
self of  my  ardent  friendship,  and  that  yon  have  the 
approbation  of  all  our  citizens,  and  their  well  wishes 
for  your  prosperity.  We  are  sensible  of  what  benefit 
the  friendship  of  yourself  and  the  people  of  your 
State  will  be  to  Georgia ;  and  we  hope  you  will  never 
join  North  Carolina  more.  Open  a  land-office  as  speedily 
as  possible,  and  it  can  not  fail  but  you  will  prosper  as  a 
people  :  this  is  the  opinion  current  among  us. 


112  JOHN  SEVIER. 

"I  have  considered  greatly  on  that  part  of  your  letter 
which  alludes  to  politics  in  the  Western  country.  It 
made  me  serious  ;  and,  as  seven  States  have  agreed  to 
give  up  the  navigation,  it  is  my  friendly  advice  that  you 
do  watch  with  every  possible  attention,  for  fear  that  two 
more  States  should  agree.  I  only  observe  to  you  that 
the  Southern  States  will  ever  be  your  friends.  I  know 
that  you  must  haye  the  navigation  of  the  Mississippi. 
You  have  spirit  and  right :  it  is  almost  every  man's 
opinion  that  a  rumor"  (an  outbreak)  ^^will  rise  in  that 
country.  I  hope  to  see  that  part  myself  yet.  Adieu. 
Heaven  attend  you  and  every  friend  ! " 

This  letter  of  General  Clarke  expresses  the  nearly 
unanimous  sentiment  of  the  people  of  Franklin  at  this 
period  in  regard  to  a  reversion  to  North  Carolina.  They 
were  prepared  to  resist  it,  *^even  unto  blood."  This  is 
shown  by  the  following  extract  from  a  letter  of  Judge 
Campbell,  the  recently  appointed  Chief-Justice  of  the 
North  Carolina  Superior  Court,  to  Governor  Caswell, 
dated  March  18,  1787.  He  said :  "  The  sword  of  justice 
and  vengeance  will,  I  believe,  be  shortly  drawn  against 
those  of  this  country  who  attempt  to  overturn  and  vio- 
late the  laws  and  government  of  Franklin,  and  God  only 
knows  what  will  be  the  event  !  If  any  blood  is  spilt  on 
this  occasion,  the  act  for  partial  elections  from  your 
country"  (which  had  placed  Tipton  in  the  North  Caro- 
lina Senate)  "will  be  the  cause  of  it ;  and,  I  am  bold  to 
say,  the  author  of  that  act  was  the  author  of  much  evil. 


THE   CHOSEN  ALTERNATIVE.  113 

That  your  ExceUency  may  not  be  in  the  dark  about  the 
spirit  and  determination  of  a  great  majority  of  these 
people,  in  supporting,  maintaining,  and  defending  their 
beloved  Franklin,  I  shaU  give  you  a  brief  and  concise 
detail  of  what  has  transpired  here  since  the  fate  of  our 
memorial  and  personal  application  to  the  Legislature  of 
North  Carolina  has  been  announced  to  us.  Pains  have 
been  taken  to  collect  the  wishes  of  the  people  respecting 
a  reversion ;  many  who  were  formerly  lukewarm  are 
now  flaming  patriots  for  Franklin.  Those  who  were  real 
Franklinites  are  now  burning  with  enthusiastic  zeal. 
They  say  that  North  Carolina  has  not  treated  us  like  a 
parent,  but  like  a  step-dame.  She  means  to  sacrifice  us 
to  the  Indian  savages ;  she  has  broken  our  old  officers, 
under  whom  we  fought  and  bled,  and  placed  over  us 
many  men  unskilled  in  military  achievements,  and  who 
were  none  of  our  choice.  .  .  .  You  must  not  conclude 
we  are  altogether  unanimous ;  but  I  do  assure  you  that 
a  very  great  majority,  perhaps  nineteen  twentieths,  seem 
determined  to  persevere  at  all  hazards." 

A  letter  from  Hutchings,  the  newly  appointed  North 
Carolina  colonel  of  Hawkins  County,  to  Governor  Cas- 
well, at  about  the  same  date,  was  to  the  same  purport ; 
and  he  added  :  *'  There  are  many  plans  and  matters  agi- 
tated by  them  which  seem  to  have  a  tendency  to  dissolve 
the  Federal  bands.  Several  letters  I  have  in  my  pos- 
session can  be  spoken  of  in  no  other  way." 

From  the  above  it  would  seem  to  be  clear  that  the 
people  of  Franklin  had  now  resolved  on  armed  resistance 


114  JOHN  SEVIER. 

to  North  Carolina ;  and  that  among  them  was  heard  a 
subdued  talk  of  throwing  oS  allegiance  to  the  Federal 
Union.  It  is  not  to  be  supposed  that  the  Spanish  pro- 
posals were  as  yet  generally  known  ;  but  they  were 
known  to  Sevier,  and  therefore  he  had  before  his  yiew 
the  entire  situation — the  whole  people  west  of  the  Alle- 
ghanies  ripe  for  revolt,  and  Spain  pledged  to  assist  them 
in  asserting  and  maintaining  their  independence  of  the 
General  Government.  Once  before  Sevier  had  gone  with 
the  current,  and  for  doing  so  he  has  been  styled — by 
those  not  attentive  to  his  entire  career — a  demagogue, 
and  accused  of  personal  ambition.  What  will  they  say 
of  him  if  he  shall  now  resist  the  tide,  refuse  to  lift  a 
hand  against  North  Carolina  or  the  Federal  authority, 
and,  with  the  loss  of  all  he  has,  and  at  the  hazard  of  his 
life  and  liberty,  not  only  save  his  own  people  from  sav- 
age assault,  but  hold  the  entire  "West  to  its  moorings  in 
the  Union  ?  To  appreciate  what  he  did,  it  is  necessary 
to  consider  what  he  might  have  done,  had  he  not  been 
as  true  a  man  and  as  pure  a  patriot  as  can  be  found  in 
American  history. 

The  whole  West,  as  has  been  shown,  was  ripe  for 
rebellion.  Under  Isaac  Shelby,  Benjamin  Logan,  and 
George  Rogers  Clark,  five  thousand  men  could  have  been 
raised  in  Kentucky ;  three  thousand  more  could  have 
been  recruited  by  Arthur  Campbell  in  Southwest  Vir- 
ginia ;  at  least  one  thousand  by  Robertson  on  the  Cum- 
berland ;  and  Elijah  Clarke,  who  had  said,  "  I  hope  to 
see  that  part  myself  yet,"  could  have  been  counted  on  to 


THE   CHOSEN   ALTERNATIVE.  115 

lead  five  thousand  over  the  mountains  from  Northern 
Georgia.  All  of  these  men,  except  George  Rogers  Clark, 
had  served  under  or  with  Sevier ;  all  were  devotedly  at- 
tached to  him  ;  and  all,  knowing  his  military  genius, 
would  gladly  have  accepted  his  leadership.  Campbell 
and  Robertson  had  already  proposed  to  join  their  fortunes 
with  those  of  Franklin,  and  Sevier  had  only  to  speak  the 
word  to  rally  the  others  to  his  side,  and  then,  counting 
his  own  troops,  he  would  have  been  at  the  head  of  not  less 
than  twenty  thousand  of  the  best  fighting  men  in  the 
country.  Opposed  to  liim  would  have  been  the  wretched 
^'sand-hillers  "  of  Xorth  Carolina,  with  not  one  compe- 
tent leader,  and  perhaps  the  General  Government — I  say 
'^  perhaps,"  because  the  old  Confederation  had  then 
neither  strength  nor  vitality.  It  was  at  the  point  of  dis- 
solution, and  its  representatives  in  Congress  were  at  that 
very  moment  debating  the  new  Constitution,  which  was 
not  adopted  by  all  the  States  till  more  than  two  years 
afterward.  Moreover,  a  majority  of  that  body  were 
from  the  Eastern  and  Northern  States,  where  the  general 
opinion  was  that  the  Union  already  covered  too  much 
territory.  They  would  have  been  content  with  the 
Alleghanies  as  its  western  boundary,  and  it  is  not  prob- 
able that  they  would  have  submitted  to  the  expense  of 
maintaining  a  large  armed  force  for  the  subjugation  of 
the  West. 

This  was  the  outlook  to  Sevier  if  the  Spanish  pro- 
posals were  not  accepted.  But,  if  even  a  temporary 
alliance  had    been   formed   with   Spain,    this    army  of 


116  J0H5^  SEVIER. 

twenty  thousand  men  would  have  been  augmented  by 
twenty  thousand  Indian  warriors,  who  had  for  ^^'Chucky 
Jack  "  a  superstitious  veneration,  and  every  one  of  whom 
would  have  followed  him,  believing  that  in  doing  so  he 
was  under  supernatural  protection.  With  this  alliance 
the  Mississippi  would  have  been  opened,  a  trade  estab- 
lished upon  it  that  would  soon  have  flooded  the  West 
with  gold  and  silver,  and  the  murderous  tomahawk 
would  have  been  so  deeply  buried  that  it  might  never 
again  be  brandished  above  the  white  man's  dwelling. 
And,  in  alliance  with  Spain,  Sevier  could  have  counted 
with  absolute  certainty  upon  no  interference  from  the 
Central  Government ;  for  had  it  not  already  for  three 
years  borne  with  wrong,  indignity,  and  savage  outrage 
upon  its  Western  citizens,  rather  than  provoke  a  war 
with  the  Spaniards ;  and  did  it  not  pursue  the  same 
policy  for  seven  years  longer  ? 

Each  of  these  courses  was  now  open  to  Sevier,  and 
either  of  them  would  unquestionably  have  resulted  in  the 
independence  of  the  West.  Is  it  not  within  bounds  to 
say  that  such  another  opportunity  for  what  is  termed 
'^ great  achievement"  has  seldom  been  presented  to  any 
ambitious  leader  in  this  country  ? 

On  the  other  hand,  what  would  have  been  the  result 
had  Sevier  given  up  his  command,  and  submitted  to  the 
government  of  North  Carolina  ?  Three  thousand  well- 
deserving  people,  who,  relying  on  the'  faith  of  North 
Carolina,  had  settled  on  the  Indian  lands,  would  have 
been  at  once  driven  from  their  homes,  or  else  outlawed 


THE  CHOSEN  ALTERNATIVE.  117 

and  delivered  over,  in  express  terms,  by  the  treaty  of 
Hopewell,  to  the  relentless  fury  of  untamed  savages  ; 
and  more  than  this,  the  whole  Watauga  country  would 
have  been  stripped  of  its  tried  military  leaders,  and  ex- 
posed, without  so  much  as  a  competent  captain  of  militia, 
to  the  impending  attack  from  McGillivray  and  his  twelve 
thousand  warriors.  This  is  not  too  much  to  say,  for 
Evan  Shelby,  though  an  old  and  tried  soldier,  was  now 
feeble  with  age,  and  incompetent  to  lead  in  such  an 
emergency ;  and  Tipton  and  Martin,  the  only  colonels 
worthy  of  mention,  had  not  the  confidence  of  the  people. 
They  were  willing  enough  to  lead,  but,  as  very  soon  ap- 
peared, the  ^*  tall  Watauga  bo3's"  were  not  willing  to  fol- 
low them.  Thus  the  salvation  of  Watauga,  and  the 
safety  of  every  man,  woman,  and  child  in  its  scattered 
settlements,  rested  upon  Sevier,  and  demanded  that  he 
should,  at  least  for  a  time,  retain  control  of  its  military 
organization. 

These  were  the  facts  which  of  necessity  Sevier  had 
before  him  for  the  thirty  days  during  which  he  had 
his  future  course  under  consideration.  There  is  no 
word  from  him  to  indicate  his  decision  ;  but  the  scanty 
records  which  exist,  and  his  subsequent  action,  clearly 
show  it  to  have  been  as  follows  : 

He  would  form  no  alliance  with  Spain.  Light  has  no 
affinity  with  darkness,  and  American  freedom  would  not 
ally  itself  with  Spanish  tyranny. 

He  would  not  aid  or  countenance  any  effort  to  dis- 
member the  Union.      He   had  fought  to  establish   it, 

12 


118  JOHN  SEVIER. 

and  lie  would  again  risk  his  life  for  its  preserva- 
tion. 

He  would  not  lift  his  hand  against  one  of  his  country- 
men, nor  would  he  resist  by  force  the  arbitrary  acts  of 
North  Carolina.  He  would  conciliate  that  State,  if  pos- 
sible, by  moderate  measures,  and  a  right  presentation  of 
facts,  and  in  all  honorable  ways  would  endeavor  to  pre- 
serve peace  between  the  two  peoples. 

But  he  would,  at  all  hazards,  defend  against  Indian 
attack  the  Watauga  settlers  and  the  people  who  were 
outlawed  by  the  treaty  of  Hopewell.  The  better  to  do 
this,  he  would  retain  in  force  the  civil  and  military 
organization  of  Franklin  for  the  single  year  that  re- 
mained of  his  term  as  Governor.  That  period  having 
expired,  he  would  no  longer  be  eligible  to  that  office  ; 
but  then,  if  danger  from  the  Indians  continued,  he 
would  head  the  militia  as  their  volunteer  leader.  By 
this  course  he  might  come  into  collision  with  North 
Carolina,  and  be  subjected  to  a  charge  of  high  treason  ; 
but  this  was  a  personal  risk,  involving  only  his  own  life 
and  liberty,  and  he  would  assume  it  to  protect  the 
Watauga  people. 

Having  resolved  upon  this  course,  Sevier,  on  the  6th 
of  April,  1787,  addressed  the  following  letter  to  Gov- 
ernor Caswell : 

<^Siii :  I  was  favored  with  yours  of  23d  February,  in 
which  your  Excellency  was  pleased  to  favor  me  with  a 
detail  of  the  proceedings  of  your  Assembly.     I  must  own 


THE  CHOSEN  ALTERNATIVE.  119 

I  bad  the  fullest  hopes  and  confidence  that  that  body, 
before  their  rising,  would  have  either  agreed  to  the  sepa- 
ration, on  honorable  principles  and  stipulations,  or  other- 
wise endeavored  to  have  reunited  us  upon  such  terms  as 
might  have  been  lasting  and  friendly  ;  but  I  find  myself 
and  country  entirely  deceived  ;  and,  if  your  Assembly 
have  thought  their  measures  would  answer  such  an  end, 
they  are  equally  disappointed.  But  I  firmly  believe, 
had  proper  measures  been  adopted,  an  union,  in  some 
measure,  or  perhaps  fully,  would  have  taken  place. 

*^We  shall  continue  to  act  as  independent,  and  would 
rather  suffer  death  in  all  its  various  and  frightful  shapes 
than  conform  to  anything  that  is  disgraceful." 

To  this  letter  Caswell  replied  promptly,  and  in  a 
most  kindly  spirit,  urging  upon  Sevier  patience  and 
moderation.  In  an  indirect  way  he  censured  the  course 
of  the  Legislature  by  saying  :  ''  I  can  not  account  for  the 
conduct  of  our  Assembly  in  their  last  session.  I  know 
some  of  the  gentlemen's  sentiments  did  not  coincide  with 
my  own.  ...  My  ideas  are  that  Nature,  in  this  forma- 
tion of  the  hills  between  us,  and  directing  the  courses  of 
waters  so  differently,  had  not  in  view  the  inhabitants  on 
either  side  being  long  subject  to  the  same  laws  and  gov- 
ernment. I  conclude  by  recommending  unanimity  among 
you,  as  the  only  means  by  which  your  government  ever 
can  obtain  energy,  even  when  the  separation  is  effected 
by  consent  of  North  Carolina." 


120  JOHN  SEVIER. 

Six  months  prior  to  the  date  we  are  considering, 
Major  Elholni  had  written  to  the  Governor  of  Georgia, 
*^Mr.  John  Tipton's  party  seems  deep  in  decline  at  pres- 
ent." It  was  so,  and  so  would  have  continued — a  mere 
corporal's  guard,  and  not  a  party — and  it  would  speedily 
have  died  a  natural  death,  but  for  the  passage  of  the  law 
beheading  the  Franklin  government.  That  act  was  no 
sooner  passed  than  Tipton  himself  received  new  life,  and, 
waiting  only  for  the  commissions  for  the  new  ofiBcials, 
hurried  over  the  mountains  into  Franklin,  proclaiming 
everywhere  the  overthrow  of  Sevier  and  his  government. 
He  arrived  some  weeks  before  the  official  dispatches,  and 
at  first  the  people  listened  with  incredulous  ears  to  his 
tidings,  but  when  they  saw  courts  being  organized  under 
the  new  justices,  and  placards  posted  at  every  cross-roads 
calling  upon  the  militia  to  muster  under  the  new  officers, 
they  believed  his  report,  and  the  general  rage  and  con- 
sternation became  unbounded.  ''  Does  North  Carolina," 
they  asked,  ^*  intend  to  deliver  us,  bound  hand  and  foot, 
to  our  enemies  ?  In  the  face  of  a  great  Indian  war,  will 
she  depose  our  tried  leaders,  and  set  over  us  officers  who 
know  nothing  of  savage  warfare  ?  And  what  kind  of 
law  or  equity  can  we  get  from  these  irresponsible  men 
whom  she  has  made  our  civil  justices  ? "  Only  in  the 
two  older  counties  could  men  be  found  who  would  ac- 
cept the  new  appointments,  and  even  there  the  feeling 
ran  so  high  that,  had  it  not  been  for  the  pacific  counsels 
of  Sevier,  violence  might  have  been  done  to  the  new 
officials. 


THE   CHOSEN  ALTERNATIVE.  121 

But  this  storm  of  indignation  did  not  intimidate 
Tipton.  Turmoil  was  his  natural  element,  and  he  was 
of  so  reckless  a  courage  that,  right  or  wrong,  with  five 
men  at  his  back,  he  would  anywhere  liave  met  a  thou- 
sand. He  went  on  delivering  the  commissions,  organiz- 
ing justices'  courts  in  log-cabins  and  cross-road  school- 
houses,  and  forming  such  skeletons  of  military  companies 
as  could  be  got  together  from  among  his  own  and  Hous- 
ton's adherents,  who  now,  according  to  Judge  Campbell, 
numbered  not  more  than  five  men  in  a  hundred.  This 
slender  battalion,  it  would  seem,  could  not  be  dangerous, 
and  need  not  be  feared  by  a  majority,  large,  compact, 
and  powerful ;  and  yet  there  was  danger  in  it,  for  behind 
this  ribald,  disorderly  crew,  so  out  at  the  elbows  and 
out  of  character,  was  that  silent,  omnipotent  force, 
which  we  call  Law,  and  which,  whoever  resists,  is  him- 
self at  once  an  outlaw  and  a  criminal. 

Though  he  could  not  at  the  time  muster  a  hundred 
men,  Tipton  knew  his  legal  strength,  and  he  determined 
upon  such  aggressive  measures  as  would  overturn  Sevier's 
pacific  policy,  and  bring  on  such  a  collision  with  North 
Carolina  as,  he  thought,  would  be  fatal  to  the  new  gov- 
ernment. He  had  organized  a  court  for  the  county  of 
Washington  at  a  log-house  on  Buffalo  Creek,  about  ten 
miles  from  Jonesboro,  and,  procuring  a  warrant  from 
this  court,  he  collected  a  body  of  some  fifty  armed  men, 
and  descended  one  day  in  early  March  upon  the  regular 
tribunal,  then  in  session  at  the  county-seat.  The  rec- 
ords of  the  court  being  refused   him,  he  proceeded  to 


122  JOHN  SEVIER. 

drive  the  judge,  jury,  lawyers,  and  spectators  out-of- 
doors,  and  then  bore  away  the  records  in  triumph  to  his 
own  court  on  Buffalo  Creek.  James  Sevier,  who  when 
a  boy  not  yet  sixteen  had  fought  by  his  father's  side  at 
King's  Mountain,  -^^as  the  clerk  of  the  regular  court, 
and,  now  promptly  gathering  a  number  of  men,  he  de- 
scended in  turn  upon  Tipton's  court,  regained  the  capt- 
ured papers,  and  bore  them  away  to  his  own  dwelling. 
Here,  a  few  nights  later,  he  was  surrounded  by  a  still 
stronger  party,  the  papers  forced  from  him,  and  again 
borne  away  by  Tipton.  But  young  Sevier  was  not  to  be 
thus  overcome  by  what  he  deemed  a  party  of  lawless 
ragamuffins.  He  collected  another  body  of  men,  again 
recaptured  the  papers,  and  on  this  occasion  hid  them  in 
a  cave,  where  they  might  be  as  secure  as  the  old  charter 
in  the  famous  oak  of  Hartford.  "However,"  says  Hay- 
wood, "in  these  removals  many  valuable  papers  were 
lost,  and  at  later  periods,  for  want  of  them,  some  estates 
of  great  value  have  also  been  lost."  Some  of  these 
papers  came  subsequently  into  the  possession  of  Dr. 
Ramsey,  and  he  reports  that  they  bore  evidence  of  hav- 
ing at  some  time  been  in  very  damp  quarters.  No  blood 
was  shed  in  these  various  collisions,  for  on  each  occasion 
only  the  attacking  party  was  armed. 

These  disorderly  proceedings  increased  the  public  ex- 
citement, and  the  Franklin  Legislature,  then  in  session, 
sought  to  put  a  stop  to  them  by  passing  an  act  to  punish 
by  imprisonment  every  person  who  should  attempt  to 
exercise  the  authority  of  a  justice  of  the  peace,  or  per- 


THE   CHOSEN  ALTERNATIVE.  123 

form  the  duties  of  any  other  civil  office,  by  commission 
from  the  State  of  North  Carolina.  Sevier  refused  to 
sanction  this  law,  and  it  consequently  was  inoperative  ; 
but  it  required  all  his  remarkable  powers  of  conciliation 
to  prevent  the  people  resorting  to  summary  and  illegal 
measures,  that  would  inevitably  have  resulted  in  blood- 
shed. 

This  first  crop  of  dragon's  teeth,  which  sprang 
from  the  hostile  legislation  of  Korth  Carolina,  warned 
Sevier  that  something  must  at  once  be  done  to  stop  the 
evil,  and  secure  against  further  profanation  the  recog- 
nized courts  of  justice.  Evan  Shelby  had  been  ap- 
pointed by  the  old  State  brigadier-general  of  the  entire 
western  militia,  and  this,  though  as  yet  he  was  in  com- 
mand of  only  skeleton  regiments,  made  him  the  highest 
representative  of  North  Carolina  in  the  Territory.  In 
anticipation  of  the  hostile  feeling  which  the  obnoxious 
act  of  his  Legislature  would  arouse  in  Franklin,  Governor 
Caswell  had  written  Shelby  to  exert  every  influence  to 
pacify  the  people,  and  now  Sevier  applied  to  him  for  his 
co-operation  in  some  feasible  measure  calculated  to  re- 
store the  public  tranquillity.  The  result  was  an  agree- 
ment which  in  effect  established  two  governments  in 
Franklin  ;  and  this  shows  that  Sevier  never  intended  to 
sustain  his  authority  by  force,  and  only  sought  to  retain 
power  until  the  present  danger  from  the  Indians  should 
be  over.  The  agreement,  as  reported  by  Evan  Shelby  to 
Governor  Caswell,  was  as  follows  : 


124  JOHN  SEVIER. 

"At  a  conference  held  at  the  house  of  Samuel  Smith, 
Esquire,  on  the  20th  day  of  March,  1787,  between  the 
Honorable  Evan  Shelby,  Esquire,  and  sundry  officers,  of 
the  one  part,  and  the  Honorable  John  Sevier,  and  sun- 
dry officers,  of  the  other  part :  Whereas,  disputes  have 
arisen  concerning  the  propriety  and  legality  of  the  State 
of  Franklin,  and  the  sovereignty  and  jurisdiction  of  the 
State  of  North  Carolina  over  the  said  State,  and  the 
people  residing  therein  :  the  contending  p'arties,  from 
the  regard  they  have  to  peace,  tranquillity,  and  good  de- 
corum in  the  western  country,  do  agree  and  recommend 
as  follows  : 

^'  First.  That  the  courts  of  justice  do  not  proceed  to 
transact  any  business  in  their  judicial  departments,  ex- 
cept the  trial  of  criminals,  the  proving  of  wills,  deeds, 
bills  of  sale,  and  such  like  conveyances ;  the  issuing  of 
attachments,  writs,  and  any  legal  process,  so  as  to  pro- 
cure bail,  but  not  to  enter  into  any  final  determina- 
tion of  the  suits,  except  the  parties  are  mutually  agreed 
thereto. 

^^  Secondly.  That  the  inhabitants  residing  within  the 
limits  of  the  disputed  territory  are  at  full  liberty  and 
discretion  to  pay  their  public  taxes  to  either  the  State 
of  North  Carolina  or  the  State  of  Franklin, 

"  Thirdly.  That  this  agreement  and  recommendation 
continue  until  the  next  annual  sitting  of  the  General 
Assembly  of  North  Carolina,  to  be  held  in  November 
next,  and  not  longer.  It  is  further  agreed,  that  if  any 
person  guilty  of  felony  be  committed  by  any  North  Caro- 


THE   CHOSEN   ALTERNATIVE.  125 

lina  justice  of  the  peace,  that  such  person  or  persons 
may  and  shall  be  received  by  the  Franklin  sheriff  or 
gaJler   of   Washington,    and    proceeded   against   in   the 
same  manner  as  if  the  same  had  been  committed  by 
and  from  any  such  authority  from  under  the  State  of 
Franklin.      It  is  also  recommended  that  the  aforesaid 
people  do  take  such  modes  and  regulations,  and  set  forth 
their  grievances,  if  any  they  have,  and  solicit  North 
Carolina,  at  their  next  annual  meeting  of  the  General 
Assembly,  to  complete  the  separation,  if  thought  neces- 
sary by  the  people  of  the  western  country,  as  to  them 
may  appear  most  expedient,  and  give  their  members  and 
representatives  such  instructions  as  may  be  thought  most 
conducive  to  the   interest  of  our  western  world,  by  a 
majority  of  the  same,  either  to  be  a  separate  State  from 
that  of  North  Carolina,  or  to  be  citizens  of  the  State  of 
North  Carolina. 

^^  Signed  and  agreed,  on  behalf  of  each  party,  this 

day  and  year  above  written. 

"Evan  Shelby, 
*'JoHN  Sevier." 

Sevier  had  now  chained  the  winds,  and  all  would  be 
well  if  they  did  not  slip  from  his  grasp,  rush  violently 
together,  and  he  be  caught  in  the  whirlwind. 


CHAPTER  VII. 

QUAKER   GUKS. 

Two  years  had  now  passed  since  Sevier  assumed  the 
reins  of  the  Franklin  government,  and  during  the  whole 
of  that  period  the  country  under  his  control  had  expe- 
rienced unbroken  prosperity.  Education  had  been  fos- 
tered, law  had  been  duly  administered,  and  crime  had 
been  a  thing  almost  unknown.  Tradition  and  the  rec- 
ords of  Washington  County — so  far  as  they  have  been 
preserved — report  not  a  single  capital  crime  to  have  been 
committed  in  the  district.  Money  had  not  been  abun- 
dant, but  the  thirty  thousand  dollars  of  silver  coined  by 
Charles  Eobertson  had  been  enough  for  ordinary  ex- 
changes, and,  peltry  being  still  receivable  by  the  collect- 
ors, every  man  had  a  ready  means  of  paying  his  taxes. 
These  had  been  light — ^^one  shilling  the  poll,  and  six- 
pence per  hundred  acres  " — and  the  best  of  agricultural 
land  was  obtainable  at  "forty  shillings  per  hundred  ;  the 
first  ten  shillings  in  hand,  and  two  years'  credit  for  the 
other  thirty  shillings."  Thus  every  man  had  within  his 
reach  a  home  and  a  competence  ;  and,  though  a  heavy 


QUAKER  GUNS.  127 

war-cloud  hung  continually  over  the  border,  he  could 
sit  '^ under  his  own  vine  and  fig-tree"  without  fear,  see- 
ing that  Nolichucky  Jack  and  his  four  thousand  rifle- 
men stood  guard  over  his  dwelling.  So  strong  was  this 
feeling  of  security  that  settlements  had  been  extended 
on  the  lands  south  of  the  French  Broad — acquired  by 
the  treaty  between  Sevier  and  the  Cherokees — to  within 
nine  miles  of  the  Indian  towns  on  the  Tellico.  It  was 
a  singular  spectacle,  this,  of  a  whole  people  living  in 
scattered  settlements,  and  beleaguered  on  three  sides  by 
savage  foes,  yet  resting  without  a  thought  of  danger, 
because  of  the  moral  power  of  one  man,  whose  single 
name  held  harmless  a  swarm  of  warlike  enemies.  But 
this  reign  of  peace  and  laAv  and  fraternal  feeling  was  now 
to  be  for  a  time  interrupted  by  the  machinations  of  a  few 
reckless  and  ambitious  men,  who,  with  no  j^ower  or  in- 
fluence of  their  own,  were  rendered  potent  for  evil  by 
the  '•' mother-State,"  which  had  never  expended  a  dollar 
nor  provided  a  soldier  for  the  aid  or  protection  of  its 
western  citizens. 

For  a  time  the  two  co-ordinate  governments  moved 
along,  side  by  side,  without  jar  or  collision.  The  Xorth 
Carolina  sheriff  lodged  his  prisoners  in  the  Franklin  jail 
on  free  straw  and  at  free  rations  ;  the  rival  justices  held 
court  simultaneously  at  opposite  ends  of  the  little  log 
school-houses,  and  officiated  conjointly  at  the  weddings 
of  such  young  men  and  women  as  desired  to  hold  to- 
gether, whichsoever  administration  should  fall  to  joieces  ; 
and  thus  it  happened  that  many  a  man  might  be  met  in 


128  JOHN  SEVIER. 

after-years  who,  with  never  but  one  wife,  had  yet  been 
twice  married.  The  lion  and  the  lamb  had,  in  truth, 
come  to  lie  down  together,  though,  unfortunately  for 
the  lamb,  the  little  child  whose  office  it  is  to  muzzle  the 
larger  beast  was  absent  on  this  occasion. 

This  state  of  things  could  not  have  continued  for  a 
day  had  not  these  people  cherished  a  high  respect  for 
law  and  order,  and  a  genuine  regard  for  one  another. 
As  it  was,  it  lasted  fully  forty  days,  and  until  the  parti- 
sans of  North  Carolina  saw  that  only  through  "much 
tribulation  "  could  the  old  State  recover  her  lost  domin- 
ion, and — what  was  of  more  consequence  to  them — they 
achieve  the  power  they  so  much  coveted.  The  desire 
among  the  people  for  separation  was  well-nigh  unani- 
mous ;  if  the  present  good  feeling  continued,  it  would 
become  altogether  so,  and  the  Governor  of  North  Caro- 
lina had  distinctly  said  that  unanimity  would  secure  the 
wished-for  independence  of  Franklin.  Therefore,  this 
harmony  must  be  broken,  the  dregs  of  society  stirred  up 
to  the  surface,  and  discord  introduced  into  a  peaceful 
community,  if  Tipton  and  his  boon  companions  did  not 
wish  to  be  reduced  to  political  nonentity.  A  small  stone 
cast  into  a  placid  pool  will  ruffle  the  waters  to  its  far- 
thermost extremity ;  so  now  a  few  spoken  words  set  in 
commotion  the  entire  country  around  Watauga.  These 
words  were:  "By  what  authority  did  John  Sevier  and 
General  Shelby  make  that  anomalous  compact  ?  Can  a 
man  serve  two  masters  ?  If  not,  then  choose  ye  :  '  If 
the  Lord  be  God,  follow  him  ;  if  Baal,  then  follow  him.'  " 


QUAKER  GUNS.  129 

The  words  spread,  and  thus  was  that  modern  inven- 
tion, party  politics,  introduced  among  this  primitive  peo- 
ple. Soon  at  every  cross-road  gathering  was  heard  discus- 
sion, and  then  wrangling,  and  then  shouts  for  North  Caro- 
lina and  for  Franklin.  The  partisans  of  the  new  State 
continued  very  largely  in  the  majority,  but  their  leader 
had  enjoined  upon  them  peace,  forbearance,  and  brotherly 
kindness  ;  and,  his  Quaker  policy  being  well  understood, 
the  factious  minority  were  emboldened  to  acts  of  vio- 
lence. Court-houses  were  again  rifled,  and  peaceable 
meetings  broken  up  by  the  disorderly  adherents  of  Tip- 
ton, who  in  some  cases  resorted  to  *' knock-down  argu- 
ments." This  was  too  much  for  the  unregenerate  man- 
hood of  such  of  Sevier's  friends  as  had  not  pondered 
upon  the  thirty-ninth  verse  of  the  fifth  chapter  of  St. 
Matthew's  gospel.  They  returned  blow  for  blow,  and 
thus  an  animosity  was  engendered  which,  in  some  fami- 
lies, lasted  till  far  into  another  century.  No  blood  was 
shed  in  these  encounters,  because,  as  if  by  tacit  consent, 
no  deadly  weapons  were  employed  ;  but  a  reign  of  vio- 
lence was  inaugurated  which  could  not  safely  continue 
unchecked  in  any  community. 

Meanwhile,  Evan  Shelby  was  resting  in  patriarchal 
ease  at  his  cattle-farm  of  King's  Meadows,  utterly  igno- 
rant of  the  unbrotherly  dissension  which  was  going  on 
only  forty  or  fifty  miles  to  the  south  of  him.  At  last 
word  was  brought  him  of  this  deplorable  state  of  things 
by  the  North  Carolina  colonels — Tipton,  Maxwell,  and 
Hutchings— who  had  been  the  active  agents  in  raising 

13 


130  JOHN  SEVIER. 

this  storm  of  disorder.  The  story  lost  nothing  in  their 
telling,  and  the  old  yeteran  listened  aghast  to  the  tale  of 
riot  and  confusion.  He  was  a  cast-iron  man,  trained  in 
a  school  of  rigid  discipline,  and  for  forty  years  had  been 
accustomed  to  the  exercise  of  military  authority.  He 
saw  that  this  disorder  must  be  put  down,  or  there  was  an 
end  to  all  government.  But  how  could  it  be  put  down, 
the  discontent  so  general,  and  he  with  only  a  corporal's 
guard  for  an  army  ?  To  this  answered  Tipton  and  the 
other  colonels  :  "  Call  upon  North  Carolina  for  a  thou- 
sand men.  That  force,  backed  by  the  moral  power  of 
law,  will  overawe  all  opposition  to  the  old  State.  Be- 
sides, Sevier  has  announced  that  he  will  not  resist  North 
Carolina  by  force,  and  his  followers  will  not  fight  if  he 
refuses  to  lead  them." 

In  accord  with  this  suggestion.  General  Shelby  wrote 
to  Governor  Caswell,  saying,  among  other  things  :  "The 
matter  is  truly  alarming,  and  it  is  beyond  a  doubt  with 
me  that  hostilities  will  in  a  short  time  commence.  I 
therefore  think  it  highly  necessary  that  one  thousand 
troops,  at  least,  be  sent,  as  that  number  might  have  a 
good  effect ;  for,  should  we  have  that  number  under  the 
sanction  of  government,  there  is  no  doubt  with  me 
they"  (the  disaffected)  '^  would  immediately  give  way." 

With  General  Shelby  at  this  time  was  Anthony  Bled- 
soe, the  right-hand  man  of  Eobertson,  and  one  of  the 
most  influential  men  in  the  western  country.  He  had 
been  one  of  the  one  hundred  who  rushed  to  the  rescue 
when,  eleven  years  before,  Sevier,  with  but  forty  men, 


QUAKER  GUNS.  131 

had  withstood  the  assault  of  the  Cherokee  king  on  the 
fort  at  Watauga ;  and  lie  was  now  in  Franklin  to  solicit 
Seviers  aid  against  an  expected  raid  of  the  same  Chero- 
kees  upon  the  settlements  along  the  Cumberland.  Sevier 
had  promised  him  that,  if  the  raid  should  be  attempted, 
he  would  at  once  march  a  strong  body  of  men  into 
the  Cherokee  country,  and  chastise  the  savages  into 
reason  ;  and  Bledsoe  was  naturally  unwilling  to  see 
Korth  Carolina  array  an  armed  force  against  so  loyal  a 
friend  and  true  a  patriot.  By  Shelby's  permission  he 
wTote  the  Governor,  sending  the  letter  by  his  messenger. 
He  said  :  "Might  I  be  permitted  to  request  your  Excel- 
lency's addressing  these  people,  and  advising  them  of  the 
necessity  and  advantage  of  returning  to  their  duty  once 
more,  and  the  danger  and  evil  consequences  of  their  per- 
sisting in  the  attempt  of  supporting  an  independence  ? 
I  do  assure  your  Excellency  that  it  is  my  opinion  your 
address  on  that  occasion  would  have  a  very  good  effect 
on  the  principal  people  in  the  revolted  party." 

The  Governor  received  these  letters  on  May  19,  1787, 
at  once  laid  them  before  his  Council,  and  on  the  21st  he 
replied  to  General  Shelby  as  follows  :  "  I  have  stated 
the  situation  of  your  country  to  the  Council,  and  laid 
your  letter  before  them.  .  .  .  They  think  it  would  be 
very  imprudent  to  add  to  the  dissatisfaction  of  the  peo- 
ple there  by  showing  a  wish  to  encourage  the  shedding 
of  blood,  as  thereby  a  civil  war  would  eventually  be 
brought  on,  which  ought  at  all  times  to  be  avoided,  if 
possible  ;  but  more  especially  at  the  present,  as  we  have 


132  JOHN  SEVIER. 

great  reason  to  apprehend  a  general  Indian  war.  If  the 
Northern  and  Southern  tribes  should  unite  with  jour 
Cherokee  neighbors,  you  will  stand  in  need,  they  think, 
of  all  your  force,  and  therefore  recommend  unanimity 
among  you,  if  it  can  by  any  means  be  effected,  as  you 
thereby  will  be  much  more  able  to  defend  yourselves 
than  you  possibly  can  be  when  divided,  let  alone  the 
circumstance  of  cutting  each  other's  throats.  Besides 
these  [considerations],  it  would  be  impracticable  to  raise 
an  armed  force  here  to  be  sent  to  your  assistance  at  this 
time,  if  we  were  ever  so  much  disposed  thereto,  for  the 
following  reasons  :  The  people  in  general  are  now  en- 
gaged in  their  farming  business,  and,  if  brought  out, 
would  very  reluctantly  march  ;  there  is  no  money  in  the 
treasury  to  defray  the  expenses  of  such  as  might  be 
called  out ;  nor,  in  fact,  have  we  arms  or  ammuni- 
tion." 

This  letter  affords  proof  that,  if  Sevier,  even  single- 
handed,  had  then  chosen  to  resist  North  Carolina  by 
armed  force,  he  would  have  been  successful.  There 
were  those  about  him  who  well  understood  this  weakness 
of  North  Carolina,  and  who  urged  him  to  put  down  the 
malcontents  by  a  strong  arm,  feeling  sure  that  the 
^' mother-State"  could  offer  no  resistance.  There  were 
others  who  advised  the  same  course,  but  who  hoped 
North  Carolina  would  resist,  as  in  that  case  the  entire 
West  would  rally  around  Sevier,  with  the  result  of  secur- 
ing the  independence  of  the  trans- Alleghany  region  and 
the  opening  of  the  Mississippi,  not  through  a  league  with 


QUAKER  GUNS.  133 

Spain,  but  in  defiance  of  that  power,  wliich  they  would 
speedily  drive  into  the  Gulf  of  Mexico.  Tlicrc  can  be  no 
question  that  a  large  majority  of  the  people  of  Franklin 
entertained  at  this  time  the  one  or  the  other  of  these  views, 
and  now  urged  Sevier  to  extinguish  by  force  all  resist- 
ance to  his  authority.  The  pressure  upon  him  must 
have  been  great,  but  he  stood  firmly  by  his  original  reso- 
lution. "'I  will,"  he  said  in  effect,  "constrain  no  man 
to  maintain  the  Franklin  government.  If  the  j^eople 
support  it,  it  will  stand  ;  if  they  do  not  support  it,  it 
will  fall.  Not  in  any  case  will  I  consent  to  establish  it 
by  shedding  the  blood  of  my  neighbors  or  my  country- 
men." 

But,  though  he  refused  to  resort  to  force,  Sevier  again 
attempted  to  bring  about  a  peaceable  settlement  with 
North  Carolina.  All  his  direct  overtures  had  failed,  and 
he  now  sought  the  intervention  of  Georgia,  with  whose 
Governor  he  had  been  in  frequent  correspondence  in  re- 
lation to  the  expected  Indian  uprising,  and  where  he  had 
many  friends  among  the  best  citizens.  Among  these, 
fhe  Hon.  William  Downs  had  just  written  him:  "I 
have  had  the  opinion  of  a  number  of  the  greatest  poli- 
ticians in  our  State  respecting  yours,  who  give  it  as  their 
opinion  that  it  will  support  itself  without  a  doubt  ;  and, 
from  what  I  can  understand,  they  would  give  every 
assistance  in  their  joower."  Of  this  feeling  Sevier  now 
proceeded  to  avail  himself  by  dispatching  Major  Elholm 
to  the  Governor  to  solicit  his  good  offices  in  bringing 
about  an  adjustment  of  the  difficulty  with  North  Caro- 


134  JOHN  SEVIER. 

lina.  He  closes  liis  letter  to  him  with  this  paragraph  : 
**  Permit  us  to  inform  you  that  it  is  not  the  sword  that 
can  intimidate  us.  The  rectitude  of  our  cause,  our  local 
situation,  together  with  the  spirit  and  enterprise  of  our 
countrymen  in  such  a  cause,  would  inflame  us  with  con- 
fidence and  hopes  of  success.  But  when  we  call  to  mind 
the  great  numher  of  internal  and  external  enemies  to 
American  Independence,  it  makes  us  shudder  at  the  very 
idea  of  such  an  incurable  evil,  not  knowing  where  the 
disorder  might  lead,  or  what  part  of  the  body  politic  the 
ulcer  might  at  last  infect." 

Both  the  Governor  and  the  Legislature  of  Georgia 
took  prompt  measures  to  further  Sevier's  views  ;  but,  be- 
fore any  result  could  be  arrived  at,  a  general  revolution 
occupred  in  the  sentiment  of  the  Franklin  people,  which, 
considering  the  bitter  feeling  previously  existing  toward 
North  Carolina,  seems  altogether  surprising.  It  was 
brought  about  by  a  few  kindly  words  from  a  man  in 
whom  the  Franklin  people  had  confidence ;  and  it  illus- 
trates the  fact  that  the  ^'soft  answer  which  turneth  away 
wrath"  is  far  more  potent  with  reasoning  men  than 
swords  and  bayonets  and  brass  artillery.  These  few 
words  were  contained  in  a  printed  sheet,  which,  in  com- 
pliance with  Anthony  Bledsoe's  suggestion,  Governor 
Caswell  addressed  to  the  inhabitants  of  the  western 
counties.  The  document  accomplished  such  important 
results  that  its  principal  portions  are  here  given : 

The  Governor  addressed  the  people  as  '^friends  and 
fellow-citizens,"  and  then   went  on  to   say  that  a  dis- 


QUAKER  GUNS.  135 

orderly  state  of  affairs  had   been  reported   to   him,   in 
consequence  of  which  ^'sundry  good  citizens  have  been 
induced  to  signify  to  Government  their  apprehension  of 
being  obliged  to  have  recourse  to  arms.     And  notwith- 
standing tlie  behavior  of  some  of  the  refractory  might 
justify  such  a  measure,  yet  I  am  willing  to  hope  that, 
upon   reflection   and    due   consideration    of    the   conse- 
quences which  must  ensue  in  case  of  the  shedding  of 
blood    among    yourselves,    a    moment's    thought    must 
evince  the  necessity  of   mutual  friendship  and  the  ties 
of  brotherly  love  being  strongly  cemented  among  you. 
You  have,  or  shortly  will  have,  if  my  information  is 
well  grounded,  enemies  to  deal  with  which  will  require 
this  cement  to  be  more  strong  than  ever  ;   your  whole 
force  may  become  necessary  to  be  exerted  against  the 
common  enemy,  as  it  is  more  than  probable  they  may  be 
assisted  by  the  subjects  of  some  foreign  power— if  not 
publicly,  they  will  furnish  arms  and  ammunition  to  the 
Indian  tribes,  to  be  made  use  of  against  you  ;  and  when 
your  neighbors   are   so   supported   and   assisted   by  the 
Northern  and  Southern  Indians,  if  you  should  be  so  un- 
happy as  to  be  divided  among  yourselves,  what  may  you 
not  then  apprehend  and  dread  ?    Let  me  entreat  you  to 
lay  aside  your  party  disputes.     They  have  been  as  I  con- 
ceive, and  believe  yet  will  be,  if  continued,  of  very  great 
disadvantage  to  your  public  as  well  as  private  concerns. 
While  these  disputes  last.  Government  will   want  that 
energy  which   is   necessary   to    support    her    laws   and 
civilize;    in    place    of    which,    anarchy   and    confusion 


136  JOHN  SEVIER. 

will  be  preyalent,  and,  of  course,  private  interest  will 
suffer. 

^^  It  certainly  would  be  sound  policy  in  you,  for  other 
reasons,  to  unite.  The  General  Assembly  has  told  you 
that,  whenever  your  wealth  and  numbers  so  much  in- 
crease as  to  make  a  separation  necessary,  they  will  be 
willing  the  same  shall  take  place  upon  friendly  and  re- 
ciprocal terms.  Is  there  an  individual  in  your  country 
who  does  not  look  forward  in  expectation  of  such  a  day 
arriving  ?  If  that  is  the  case,  must  not  every  thinking 
man  believe  that  this  separation  will  be  soonest  and  most 
effectually  obtained  by  unanimity  ?  Let  that  carry  you 
to  a  quiet  submission  to  the  laws  of  North  Carolina  till 
your  numbers  will  justify  a  general  application  ;  and 
then  I  have  no  doubt  but  the  same  may  be  obtained — 
nay,  it  is  my  opinion  that  it  may  be  obtained  at  an  ear- 
lier date  than  some  imagine,  if  unanimity  prevail  among 
you.  Although  this  is  an  official  letter,  you  will  readily 
see  that  it  is  dictated  by  a  friendly  and  pacific  mind. 
Don't  neglect  my  advice  on  that  account.  .  .  . 

*^I  will  conclude  by  once  more  entreating  you  to 
consider  the  dreadful  calamities  and  consequences  of  a 
civil  war.  Humanity  demands  this  of  me  ;  your  own 
good  sense  will  point  out  the  propriety  of  it ;  at  least,  let 
all  animosities  and  disputes  subside  till  the  next  Assem- 
bly ;  even  let  things  remain  as  they  are,  without  pursu- 
ing compulsory  measures  till  then,  and  I  flatter  myself 
that  honorable  body  will  be  disposed  to  do  what  is  just 
and  right,  and  what  sound  policy  may  dictate." 


QUAKER  GUNS.  137 

The  friendly  spirit  seen  in  this  manifesto  was  as  oil 
poured  upon  troubled  waters.  It  stilled  the  public  ex- 
citement, and,  their  passions  once  allayed,  men  began  to 
reflect  coolly  upon  the  situation.  The  State  of  North 
Carolina  granted  nothing  and  exacted  everything,  and 
its  seltlsh  rule  had  become  intolerable.  Many  of  its  ad- 
herents were  social  nuisances,  the  natural  enemies  of  law 
and  order,  and  there  could  be  no  peace  so  long  as  they 
were  in  the  ascendency.  But  was  it  wise  to  resort  to 
one  evil  to  suppress  another,  to  resist  law,  that  they 
might  establish  good  order  ?  The  Governor  had  now 
distinctly  said  that  unanimity  and  a  little  patient  wait- 
ing would  secure  the  desired  separation ;  and  was  it  not 
better  to  adopt  this  course  than  to  incur  the  horrors  of 
civil  war  ?  And,  meanwhile,  might  they  not  put  down 
the  disorderly  demagogues  who  were  disturbing  the 
peace,  by  going  to  the  polls  and  electing  to  office  men 
who  would  correctly  represent  the  whole  community  ? 
A  large  majority  of  the  stanchest  friends  of  the  new 
government  now  came  to  this  conclusion,  and  the  con- 
sequence was  that  within  sixty  days  the  State  of  Frank- 
lin went  quietly,  and  without  a  struggle,  out  of  exist- 
ence. 

In  adopting  this  course  the  western  people  would  at 
first  sight  appear  to  have  avoided  one  danger  only  to 
rush  upon  another,  and  the  danger  they  most  feared — 
exposure  to  the  expected  attack  from  the  Creeks  and 
Cherokees,  with  none  to  lead  them  but  the  incompetent 
officers  set  over  them  by  North  Carolina.     But  their  de- 


138  JOHN  SEVIER. 

cision  to  loyally  accept  the  rule  of  that  State  was  made 
with  an  important  mental  reservation.  Their  submission 
was  intended  to  extend  merely  to  civil  affairs.  In  mili- 
tary matters  they  should  act  for  themselves,  and  choose 
their  own  leaders.  In  this  they  deemed  themselves  justi- 
fied by  the  law  of  self-preservation,  and  to  this  Xorth 
Carolina  could  certainly  take  no  exception,  if  it  should 
be  the  means  of  defending  the  country  against  her  own 
and  their  enemies.  No  public  announcement  was  made 
of  this  ;  but  when  Evan  Shelby  came  to  enroll  his  bri- 
gade, to  be  in  readiness  for  the  expected  savage  on- 
slaught, he  discovered  that  not  above  five  hundred  men 
out  of  a  total  of  more  than  four  thousand  answered  to 
his  summons.  The  rest  would  have  no  leader  but  Noli- 
chucky  Jack,  for  under  no  one  else  could  they  be  assured 
of  victory.  This  appears  the  more  striking,  when  it  is 
considered  that  Sevier  was  now  merely  a  private  citizen, 
not  only  without  legal  authority,  but  actually  proscribed, 
because  he  had  neglected  to  make  overt  submission  to 
North  Carolina. 

Nevertheless  it  was  so,  as  was  clearly  shown  late  in 
June  of  this  year,  when  a  report  came  that  the  Creeks 
had  made  a  raid  into  Georgia,  killing  no  less  than 
twenty-five  families.  The  attack  was  regarded  as  the 
beginning  of  the  threatened  war,  and  Sevier  called  at 
once  for  volunteers  to  be  ready  to  march  on  the  demand 
of  the  Georgians.  Every  man  was  to  arm  and  equip 
himself,  and  they  were  to  march  some  five  hundred  miles 
through  a  trackless  forest,  and  into   the   heart  of  the 


QUAKER  GUNS.  139 

Creek  country  ;  but  at  a  single  summons  three  thousand 
men  reported  themselves  ready  for  duty  to  their  respect- 
ive brigadiers,  Cocke  and  Kennedy.*  No  call  came  from 
the  Georgia  Governor,  and  the  report  proved  to  be  un- 
founded ;  but  the  incident  illustrated  how  completely 
Sevier  held  in  hand  nearly  the  entire  military  strength 
of  the  Territory.  Unwilling  to  see  another  general,  and 
he  a  private  citizen,  thus  in  command  of  his  own  depart- 
ment, Evan  Shelby  at  once  resigned — an  unfortunate 
occurrence,  inasmuch  as  it  set  over  the  North  Carolina 
troops  the  same  Joseph  Martin  wiio  had  concocted  the 
treaty  of  Hopewell.     • 

The  country  continued  in  hourly  expectation  of  an 
outbreak  of  hostilities  until  the  middle  of  August,  when 
word  came  from  Robertson  that  the  long-meditated  blow 
was  to  fall  first  upon  the  settlements  along  the  Cumber- 
land. It  had  been  reported  to  him  by  the  Chickasaws 
that  at  a  grand  council  of  the  Creeks,  held  shortly  be- 
fore, it  had  been  determined  to  fall  upon  and  extermi- 
nate the  Nashville  settlers,  and  it  was  expected  the 
Cherokee  nation  would  join  in  the  attack.  Robertson 
was  short  of  ammunition,  and  unprepared  for  an  on- 
slaught from  such  overpowering  numbers.  He  had  asked 
North  Carolina  for  aid,  but  Governor  Caswell  had  writ- 
ten that  he  was  unable  to  give  any  ;  he  had  also  applied 
to  Kentucky,  but  feared  he  should  get  none  from  there 


*  Letter  from  General  Kennedy  to  Governor  Mathews,  of  Georgia, 
June  29,  HSI. 


140  JOHN  SEVIER. 

in  time.  He  knew  that  the  Franklin  government  bad 
been  oyertbrown,  and  be  was  apprebensive  tbat  Sevier 
was  in  no  condition  to  belp  bim,  nevertheless  he  wrote 
to  him  :  ^'I  beg  of  you  to  use  your  influence  to  relieve 
us.  I  think  it  might  be  done  by  fixing  a  station  near 
the  mouth  of  Elk,  or  by  marching  a  body  of  men  into 
the  Cherokee  country,  or — in  any  manner  you  may  judge 
beneficial.  I  candidly  assure  you  there  never  was  a  time 
when  I  imagined  we  were  in  more  danger."* 

Only  five  days  subsequent  to  the  receipt  of  Robert- 
son's letter,  Sevier  received  one  from  Anthony  Bledsoe, 
which  stated  that  small  parties  of  Creeks  and  Chicka- 
maugas  were  already  marauding  through  the  Cumber- 
land settlements,  stealing  horses,  and  killing  the  peace- 
able inhabitants,  who  were  deserting  their  homes  and 
fleeing  to  the  forts  for  protection.  The  only  way,  he 
said,  that  peace  could  be  assured  to  his  distressed  coun- 
try was  by  distressing  the  Chickamaugas ;  and  he  re- 
minded Sevier  that,  when  he  had  last  seen  him,  Sevier 
had  proposed  to  send  without  delay  an  expedition  against 
that  perfidious  tribe  should  they  again  attack  the  Cum- 
berland settlers,  of  which  be  had  requested  Bledsoe  to 
notify  him.f 

Sevier  did  not  need  this  reminder  to  secure  his 
prompt  action.     He  at  once  called  for  six  hundred  vol- 


*  James  Robertson  to  John  Sevier,  Xashville,  August  1,  1787. 
I  Letter  from  A.  Bledsoe  to  John  Sevier,  dated  Sumner  County, 
August  5,  1787. 


QUAKER  GUNS.  141 

unteers,  two  hundred  of  whom  he  dispatched,  under 
Captain  Nathaniel  Evans,  to  the  immediate  relief  of 
Robertson  ;  the  remainder,  under  competent  officers,  he 
ordered  to  the  mouth  of  Elk  River,  to  build  there  a 
fort,  and  intercept  any  parties  of  Chickamaugas  who 
might  attempt  to  go  upon  the  war-path.  The  timely 
arrival  of  the  troops  under  Evans,  with  the  ammunition 
they  supplied,  enabled  Robertson  to  beat  off  the  present 
attack  ;  and  the  sudden  appearance  of  the  other  force  in 
the  Indian  country  prevented  any  further  irruptions  of 
the  savages.  The  Chickamaugas  regarded  this  force  as 
merely  the  advance  of  a  larger  one,  which  '^'Chucky 
Jack"  would  lead  against  them  in  case  they  or  the 
Creeks  made  any  further  hostile  movement,  and  in  fear 
of  this  both  nations  suspended  hostilities  until  a  stronger 
coalition  should  be  effected. 

By  the  compact  between  Sevier  and  Evan  Shelby  the 
people  were  at  liberty  to  pay  taxes  to  either  government 
at  their  option.  The  result  was  that,  as  a  general  thing, 
they  paid  them  to  neither,  and  consequently  the  treas- 
ury of  Franklin  was  at  this  time  empty.  But  money 
was  required  for  the  fitting  out  of  these  expeditions,  and 
also  to  fully  equip  the  force  which  was  intended  to  be 
marched  into  the  Creek  country;  for,  though  every 
backwoodsman  had  his  own  rifle  and  hunting-knife,  all 
were  not  provided  with  such  an  outfit  as  was  required 
upon  protracted  expeditions.  Sevier  had  been  a  man 
of  large  wealth  for  the  times,  and,  ever  since  the  first 
settlement  of  the  country,  he  had  stood  in  the  gap  in 

14 


142  JOHN  SEVIER. 

all  similar  emergencies,  contributing  liberally  of  his 
means  to  equip  his  men,  and  often  having  hundreds  of 
them  at  free  quarters  upon  his  plantation.  For  all  this 
he  had  never  received  any  compensation  from  the  govern- 
ment, and  the  consequence  of  his  exceeding  liberality 
was  that  he  came  out  of  the  Kevolution  stripped  of  all 
his  property,  except  his  home,  and  the  necessary  force  of 
negroes  to  work  his  plantation.  But  he  had  that  ''good 
name"  which,  even  in  commercial  circles,  is  ''better 
than  great  riches."  He  had  now  only  to  pledge  this,  to 
finish  the  equipment  of  his  volunteer  forces.  This 
he  did,  wisely  or  unwisely,  and  the  consequence  was 
that,  though  he  saved  his  friend  Robertson,  he  put 
himself  in  the  power  of  his  inveterate  enemy,  John 
Tipton. 

It  was  when  he  was  thus  arming  troops  without  au- 
thority of  law,  and  branded  as  a  rebel  by  the  Legislature 
of  North  Carolina,  that  Sevier  received  from  the  first 
military  men  of  the  time  the  highest  honor  which  was 
in  their  power  to  bestow.  Without  solicitation  on  his 
part,  he  was  elected  a  member  of  the  Order  of  the  Cin- 
cinnati, a  society  composed  of  the  most  distinguished 
officers  of  the  Revolution,  of  which  Washington  was 
president-general  to  the  close  of  his  life,  and  to  which 
none  were  aduiitted  but  men  of  high  standing  and  un- 
sullied record.  Their  estimate  of  Sevier  will  appear 
from  the  report  of  the  committee  which  passed  upon  his 
nomination.  "He  had,"  they  said,  "a  principal  merit 
in  the  rapid  and  well-conducted  volunteer  expedition  to 


QUAKER  GUNS.  143 

attack  Colonel  Ferguson,  at  King's  Mountain,  and  a 
great  share  in  the  honor  of  that  day,  which,  it  is  well 
known,  gave  a  favorable  turn  to  our  gloomy  and  dis- 
tressed situation  ;  and  an  opportunity  never  yet  appeared 
but  what  confessed  him  an  ardent  friend  and  real  gen- 
tleman.'* 

At  this  time,  also,  letters  poured  in  upon  him  from 
many  eminent  men,  advising  him  as  to  his  course,  and 
expressing  the  hope  that  he  would  be  able  to  extricate 
himself  and  the  western  settlers  from  the  difficulties  by 
which  they  were  surrounded.  Among  these,  Benjamin 
Franklin  wrote  him  frequenth^,  but  only  one  of  his  let- 
ters has  escaped  the  ravages  of  our  recent  civil  war.  It 
is  so  characteristic,  has  so  much  of  the  *' homely  wisdom 
of  Poor  Eichard,"  that  such  portions  as  bear  upon  the 
subject  of  this  history  are  here  copied.  He  said: 
*^  There  are  two  things  which  humanity  induces  me  to 
wish  you  may  succeed  in — the  accommodating  your  mis- 
understanding with  the  government  of  North  Carolina, 
and  the  avoiding  an  Indian  war  by  preventing  encroach- 
ments on  their  lands.  Such  encroachments  are  the  more 
unjustifiable,  as  these  people,  in  the  fair  way  of  pur- 
chase, usually  give  very  good  bargains  ;  and,  in  one 
year's  war  with  them,  you  may  suffer  a  loss  of  prop- 
erty, and  be  put  to  an  expense,  vastly  exceeding  in  value 
what  would  have  contented  them  in  fairly  buying  the 
lands  they  can  spare. 

'^  .  .  If  anything  should  occur  to  me  that  I  think 
may  be  useful  to  you,  you  shall  hear  from  me  thereupon. 


144  JOHN  SEVIER. 

I  conclude  with  repeating  my  wish  that  jou  may  ami- 
cably settle  your  difference  with  North  Carolina.  The 
inconvenience  to  your  people,  attending  so  remote  a  seat 
of  government,  and  the  difiBculty  to  that  government  in 
ruling  well  so  remote  a  people,  would,  I  think,  be  power- 
ful inducements  to  it  to  accede  to  any  fair  and  reason- 
able proposition  it  may  receive  from  you  if  the  cession 
act  had  not  passed." 

Dr.  Franklin  did  not  know  the  Cherokee  Indians, 
nor  the  element  then  in  control  of  the  Legislature  of 
North  Carolina.  Had  he  known  them,  he  might  have 
questioned  the  possibility  of  sustaining  peaceable  rela- 
tions with  the  savages,  or  of  effecting  an  amicable  settle- 
ment with  the  scarcely  more  civilized  *'sand-hillers" 
over  the  mountains. 

But,  though  submission  was  general  in  the  district 
contiguous  to  North  Carolina,  the  more  westerly  coun- 
ties continued  to  hold  a  divided  allegiance — two  classes 
of  officials  acting  peaceably  side  by  side,  and  a  majority 
of  the  people  still  regarding  and  addressing  Sevier  as 
Governor,  though  he  appears  to  have  no  longer  in  any 
manner  exercised  the  authority  of  that  position.  This 
divided  allegiance  did  not  meet  the  views  of  Mr.  John 
Tipton,  who  now  was  the  principal  representative  of 
North  Carolina  in  the  settlements.  In  Greene  County 
particularly  the  people  were  obstinate  in  their  adhesion 
to  the  new  State,  clinging  even  to  its  corpse  after  all 
vitality  had  left  it,  and  Tipton  essayed  to  restore  the  old 
order  of  things  by  resorting  to  his  original  expedient  of 


QUAKER  GUNS.  145 

capturing  the  records.  He  made  the  attempt  in  the 
latter  part  of  August,  and,  but  for  the  timely  interven- 
tion of  Sevier,  the  consequences  would  have  been  dis- 
astrous to  himself.  The  incident  is  related  in  a 
letter  to  Major  Elholm  from  General  Cocke,*  who 
was  a  resident  of  Greene  County.  The  letter  was  as 
follows  : 

"  Colonel  Tipton  appeared  the  other  day  with  a  party 
of  about  fifty  men — of  such  as  he  could  raise — under  a 
pretense  of  redressing  a  quarrel  that  had  arisen  between 
our  sheriff  and  the  sheriff  of  North  Carolina,  though 
their  principal  view  was  to  put  themselves  in  possession 
of  our  records.  This  conduct  produced  a  rapid  report 
that  they  had  made  a  prisoner  of  his  Excellency,  to 
carry  him  to  North  Carolina,  which  caused  two  hundred 
men  to  repair  immediately  to  the  house  of  Colonel  Tip- 
ton before  they  became  sensible  of  the  mistake ;  and  it 
was  only  through  the  influence  of  his  Excellency  that 
the  opposite  party  did  not  fall  a  sacrifice  to  our  Franks. 
During  this  time  a  body  of  about  fifteen  hundred  vet- 
erans embodied  themselves  to  rescue  (as  they  thought) 
their  Governor  out  of  the  hands  of  the  Korth  Caro- 
linians, and  bring  him  back  to  the  mountains — an  in- 
stance that  proves  our  citizens  to  have  too  noble  a 
spirit  to  yield  to  slavery,  or  to  relish  a  national  in- 
sult.'* 

*  "  Columbian  Magazine,"  for  Xovcmbcr,  17S7. 


146  JOH^  SEVIER. 

This  incident  appears  to  have  warned  Tipton  of  the 
danger  attending  a  continued  resort  to  violent  measures. 
The  consequence  was  that  he  desisted  from  any  further 
acts  of  open  hostility,  and  resorted  to  secret  craft  to 
accomplish  what  he  most  desired— the  overthrow  of  Se- 
vier, and  his  own  ascendency  over  the  people,  which 
last,  he  thought,  could  not  be  achieved  so  long  as 
their  beloved  Nolichucky  Jack  was  in  the  Territory. 
In  this  he  reckoned  without  foundation,  for  the  great 
majority  were  order-loving  and  law-abiding,  and  would, 
in  no  circumstances,  have  accepted  Tipton  as  their 
leader.  The  masses— those  whom  Mr.  Lincoln  styled 
*Hhe  plain,  common  people"  — are  everywhere  won- 
derfully clearsighted,  and  readily  distinguish  the  un- 
selfish patriot  from  the  self-seeking,  ambitious  dema- 
gogue. 

Therefore,  though  the  war-cloud  still  hung  black 
and  ominous  over  all  the  border,  there  was  peace  now 
throughout  the  scattered  settlements.  Except  in  the 
most  westerly  districts,  the  people  everywhere  submitted 
to  the  rule  of  North  Carolina,  in  hopes  thereby  to  bring 
about  the  separation  which  Governor  Caswell  had  pro- 
claimed would  no  doubt  soon  result  from  unanimity 
among  them.  The  great  majority  were  as  ardently  de- 
sirous of  independence  as  when  they  organized  the  State 
of  Franklin  ;  and,  the  North  Carolina  Legislature  hav- 
ing come  together  in  November,  Sevier  determined  to 
make  still  another  effort  to  effect  an  adjustment  of  the 
differences  with    the   *^ mother-State."      Heretofore   he 


QUAKER  GUNS.  147 

had  appealed  to  her  reason  and  her  sense  of  right  and 
expediency  ;  now  he  decided  to  approach  her  on  her 
most  vulnerable  side  —  the  watchfully  guarded  State 
treasury,  lie  commissioned  Colonel  Francis  A.  Eamsey, 
his  late  Secretary  of  State,  to  wait  upon  the  Legislature, 
and  propose,  as  an  inducement  to  separation,  the  as- 
sumption by  Franklin  of  the  entire  Continental  debt  of 
North  Carolina,  then  amounting  to  between  four  and 
five  million  dollars.  Colonel  Eamsey  was  the  father  of 
the  venerable  historian  of  Tennessee,  and  the  latter,  even 
in  extreme  old  age,  was  one  of  the  most  eloquent  men  I 
ever  listened  to.  If  eloquence  be  hereditary,  Colonel 
Ramsey  must  have  possessed  remarkable  powers  of  per- 
suasion ;  but  he  failed  to  persuade  these  legislators. 
For  months,  however,  they  nibbled  at  the  glittering  bait, 
and  there  were  times  when  the  colonel  thought  it  would 
be  taken ;  but  at  last  they  told  him  that  they  had  de- 
cided to  stay,  for  the  present,  out  of  the  Union,  and, 
while  they  did  so,  they  could  not  consent  to  the  ces- 
sion of  any  portion  of  their  territory  to  the  United 
States. 

Meanwhile,  Georgia  had  tired  of  the  repeated  out- 
rages of  the  Creeks  upon  her  western  settlers,  and  its 
Governor  had  written  Sevier:  '^The  Assembly  of  this 
State  are  now  fully  persuaded  that  they  never  can  have 
a  secure  and  lasting  peace  with  the  Creek  Indians  till 
they  are  well  chastised  and  made  to  feel  severely  the 
effects  of  war.  They  have  passed  a  law  for  raising 
three   thousand   men   for   that   purpose,   and   have  cm- 


148  JOHN  SEVIER. 

powered  the  Executive  to  call  for  fifteen  hundred  men 
from  Franklin,  in  addition  to  that  number." 

This  letter  was  dated  Augusta,  November  12,  1787, 
and  was  forwarded  by  a  special  messenger ;  but  he  had  a 
horseback-ride  of  three  hundred  miles  through  the  woods, 
and  did  not  reach  Sevier  till  the  28th  of  that  month. 
Two  hundred  of  Sevier's  men  were  still  away  with 
Robertson,  and  four  hundred  more  were  yet  posted  on 
the  Tennessee,  at  the  mouth  of  Elk  River,  but  without  a 
moment's  delay  he  issued  a  circular  calling  for  fifteen 
hundred  to  go  to  the  aid  of  Georgia.  In  it  he  said  :  *'  I 
think  to  take  the  field  once  more  "  ;  and  he  offered  his 
men  "the  honor  of  assisting  a  very  generous  and  friendly 
sister  State  to  conquer  and  chastise  an  insolent  and  bar- 
barous savage  nation."  He  closed  by  saying  :  **Ihope, 
after  seeing  the  great  notice  and  respect  shown  us  by  the 
State  of  Georgia,  in  her  application  for  our  assistance, 
and  the  high  confidence  they  place  in  our  spirit  and 
bravery,  that  the  people  here  will  be  animated  with  the 
idea  that,  like  a  young  officer  who  first  enters  the  field, 
they  are  competent,  by  their  bravery  and  merit,  to  make 
themselves  known  and  respected  among  the  nations  of 
the  world.  .  .  .  We  have  not  large  cities  and  sea-ports, 
which  generally  sink  men  into  wealth  and  luxury,  by 
which  means  their  offspring  dwindle  into  effeminacy 
and  dissipation,  yet  I  hope  we  shall  always  remain  as 
happy,  free,  and  independent  as  any  other  people  ;  if 
not,  sure  I  am  it  will  be  our  own  fault,  and  we  ought 
never  to  be  pitied." 


QUAKER  GUNS.  149 

The  circular  has  a  clear,  metallic  ring,  like  that  of 
steel  upon  flint,  and  it  struck  fire  from  the  hearts  of  the 
backwoods  people.  Within  four  days  fifteen  hundred 
men  came  together,  armed  and  equipped,  and  ready  for 
a  march  of  four  or  five  hundred  miles  into  the  mount- 
ains of  Georgia.  Such  magic  was  there  in  the  words  of 
Nolichucky  Jack,  he  merely  a  private  citizen  ;  and,  in 
fact,  not  so  much  as  that,  for  at  that  very  moment  the 
Legislature  of  North  Carolina  had  passed  an  **Act  of 
Pardon  and  Oblivion  "  for  all  who  had  taken  part  in  the 
Franklin  revolt,  but  distinctly  provided  ^'that  the  bene- 
fit of  this  act  shall  not  entitle  John  Sevier  to  the  enjoy- 
ment of  any  office  of  profit,  or  honor,  or  trust,  in  the 
State  of  North  Carolina,  but  that  he  be  exj)ressly  de- 
barred therefrom." 

Thus  did  North  Carolina  thrust  into  outlawry  the 
very  man  who,  in  the  darkest  hour  of  her  history,  had 
saved  her  from  destruction  ! 

Again,  the  men  did  not  march  on  the  Georgia  sum- 
mons, because  that  State  decided  to  suspend  warlike 
operations  in  consequence  of  the  appointment  of  com- 
missioners by  Congress  to  conclude  a  treaty  with  the 
Creek  Indians.  Considerable  time  was  consumed  in  the 
negotiation,  and  meanwhile  Sevier's  men  returned  to 
their  homes,  to  there  await  his  call  should  there  be  an 
outbreak  of  hostilities. 

Soon  tidings  came  from  over  the  mountains  of  the 
outlawry  of  Sevier,  and  the  failure  of  his  final  effort  to 
bring  about  a  separation  of  Franklin  from  North  Caro- 


150  JOHN  SEVIEPw. 

lina.  The  news  speedily  reached  the  Cherokees,  who  now 
concluded  that  they  could  make  their  long-intended  raid 
on  the  settlers  south  of  the  French  Broad  and  Holston 
without  interference  from  Nolichucky  Jack  and  his  rifle- 
men. Fear  of  him  had  held  them  inactive,  while  settlers 
had  been  thrusting  forward  their  cabins  to  the  extreme 
southern  boundary  of  the  lands  ceded  to  Franklin.  By 
the  treaty  of  Hopewell,  the  intruding  settlers  were 
**  liable  to  be  punished  by  the  Indians,  as  they  might 
think  proper,"  and,  having  thus  a  legal  right  to  rob  and 
murder  at  their  discretion;  the  Cherokees  now  prepared 
for  an  overwhelming  onslaught  upon  these  exposed  set- 
tlements. 

Tidings  of  these  preparations  were  at  once  con- 
veyed to  Sevier,  and  without  an  hour's  delay  he  mounted 
his  horse  and  set  out  for  the  frontier.  He  was  on 
the  borders  of  Greene  County,  concerting  measures  to 
repel  the  expected  invasion,  when  word  came  to  him 
that  his  inveterate  enemy,  Tipton,  had  taken  advan- 
tage of  his  absence  to  attach  his  loroperty  for  the  debt 
he  had  contracted  in  fitting  out  the  expedition  for  the 
relief  of  Robertson.  Either  by  buying  up  these  claims, 
or  by  inducing  their  holders  to  take  summary  action, 
Tipton  had  secured  a  levy  upon  Sevier's  negroes,  and 
removed  them  to  his  own  house  in  waiting  for  their  sale 
under  execution.  Without  his  field-hands,  Sevier  would 
be  unable  to  work  his  plantation  ;  and  thus,  while  denied 
the  common  rights  of  citizenship,  he  was  about  to  be  de- 
prived of  the  means  of  sustaining  his  family.     Stung 


QUAKER  GUNS.  151 

by  such  implacable  enmity,  and  indignant  at  so  high- 
handed an  outrage,  he  listened  to  the  fiery  spirits  about 
liim,  and  determined  to  return  to  his  home  and  forcibly 
recover  his  property.  About  a  hundred  and  fifty  of  his 
men  volunteered  to  accompany  him,  and  with  them  he 
set  out  at  once  for  the  house  of  Tipton,  more  than  a 
hundred  miles  distant. 

Sevier  always  moved  with  great  celerity,  but  on  this 
occasion  the  tidings  of  his  approach  preceded  him. 
News  travels  with  amazing  rapidity  in  sections  destitute 
of  mail  and  telegraphic  facilities  ;  but  it  is  probable  that 
Tipton  had  placed  spies  with  Sevier  to  give  him  timely 
notice  of  his  movements.  However  this  may  have  been, 
he  had  sufficient  warning  of  Sevier's  approach  to  call  to  his 
aid  fifteen  of  his  friends,  and  to  dispatch  a  messenger  to 
Colonel  Maxwell,  asking  him  to  come  to  his  assistance 
with  the  regiment  of  Sullivan  County.  Tipton's  house 
was  located  on  the  bank  of  a  small  creek  flowing  into  the 
Watauga,  about  eight  miles  east  of  Jonesboro,  and,  like 
most  of  the  better  class  of  backwoods  dwellings  of  the 
period,  was  substantially  a  fort,  capable,  when  properly 
manned,  of  resisting  attack  from  greatly  superior  num- 
bers. "  A  similar  structure,  defended  by  only  the  num- 
ber of  men  who  were  now  with  Tipton,  a  few  years 
later,  successfully  resisted,  in  the  vicinity  of  Xashville, 
an  assault  from  seven  hundred  savages. 

It  was  a  cold  day,  late  in  February,  when  Sevier  with 
his  one  hundred  and  fifty  men,  and  a  piece  of  small  ord- 
nance, arrived  before  this  log  fortification.     Seeing  at  a 


152  JOHN  SEVIER. 

glance  that  Tipton  had  prepared  for  his  coming,  he 
placed  his  men  on  some  low  ground  out  of  the  reach  of 
Tipton's  rifles,  and  sent  in  a  summons  for  the  surrender 
of  his  negroes,  threatening  to  fire  upon  the  building  in 
case  of  refusal.  To  this  Tipton  returned  answer,  in  the 
elegant  phraseology  to  which  he  was  accustomed,  "  Fire 
and  be  damned  ! "  Cowardice  was  not  one  of  Tipton's 
weaknesses.  Major  Elholm,  who  was  with  Seyier,  now 
proposed  to  him  to  erect  a  movable  battery  with  the 
small  cannon,  under  coyer  of  which  the  troops  might 
safely  advance  and  carry  the  place  by  assault.  To  this 
Sevier  gave  a  prompt  refusal,  declaring  that  not  a  gun 
should  be  fired.  But,  meanwhile,  some  of  his  men,  who 
had  posted  themselves  upon  a  ledge  of  rocks  in  near 
vicinity  to  the  house,  observing  a  number  of  persons 
about  to  enter  the  place,  did  fire  upon  them,  killing  one 
and  wounding  another.  To  them  Sevier  at  once  sent 
orders  to  desist  from  firing,  and  to  Elholm,  who  now  re- 
newed his  application  to  storm  the  building,  and  offered 
to  lead  the  assault,  he  gave  a  more  emphatic  refusal,  say- 
ing that  he  had  not  come  there  to  kill  his  country- 
men. 

Sevier  now  attempted  to  open  negotiations  with  Tip- 
ton, but  the  latter  refused  all  communication  with  him, 
feeling  sure  he  could  hold  out  until  succor  should  come 
from  Sullivan  County,  and  doubtless  anxious  to  lure 
Sevier  on  to  an  attack  which  would  have  placed  him  in 
the  position  of  armed  insurrection. 

Thus  things  remained  during  the  rest  of  the  day.  El- 


QUAKER  GUNS.  153 

holm  repeatedly  urging  the  necessity  of  an  assault  before 
re-enforcements  should  arrive  to  Tipton,  and  Sevier  as 
often  refusing- to  imbrue  his  hands  in  the  blood  of  his 
countrymen.  He  must  have  seen  that  only  a  prompt 
exertion  of  force  could  accomplish  the  object  of  his  ex- 
pedition, but  he  stood  inactive  and  irresolute.  On  all 
other  occasions  he  had  been  quick  to  resolve  and  rapid  to 
execute,  and  his  present  indecision  shows  that  he  must 
now  have  been  torn  by  conflicting  emotions — his  out- 
raged feelings  as  a  man  struggling  with  his  sense  of  duty 
as  a  patriot  and  a  citizen.  This  struggle  was  seen  in  his 
demeanor,  "which  was  usually  of  a  most  winning  suavity. 
He  now  for  the  only  time  in  his  life  was  reserved,  au- 
stere, abstracted,  and  even  morose,  answering  all  who 
addressed  him  with  a  curt  severity  that  was  entirely  con- 
trary to  his  custom.  Circumstances  had  forced  him  into 
a  false  position,  and  his  loyal  nature  rebelled  at  the 
thought  of  thus  appearing  to  be  at  the  head  of  insur- 
gents ready  to  engage  in  a  fratricidal  warfare.  But  his 
duty  as  a  patriot  overcame  his  pride  as  a  soldier,  his  ob- 
ligations as  a  citizen  his  outraged  feelings  as  a  man. 
With  present  outlawry  and  future  ruin  staring  him  in 
the  face,  he  resolutely  said,  '^Not  a  shot  shall  be  fired." 
Dr.  Ilamsey  truly  says  that  in  no  other  instance  did  he 
give  "a  livelier  exhibition  of  the  true  moral  sublime  of 
patriotism." 

The  feelings  of  the  commander  seemed  to  infect  the 
spirits  of  the  men.     They,  too,  had  not  come  out  to  im- 
brue their  hands  in  the  blood  of  their  friends  and  coun- 
15 


154:  JOHN  SEVIER. 

trymen.  Some  reckless  spirits  were  among  them,  but 
much  the  greater  number  had  no  relish  for  the  turn 
affairs  had  taken.  The  night  was  cold  and  dark,  and 
they  gathered  in  silence  about  their  camp-fires,  or  if  they 
spoke  it  was  in  suppressed  voices.  They  had  followed 
Sevier  on  many  a  campaign,  and  always  before,  when  the 
sentries  were  posted  for  the  night,  they  had  collected  in 
joyous  groups  and  passed  the  hours  in  merry  laugh,  and 
song  and  jest,  unrestrained  by  the  presence  of  their  com- 
mander, who  nightly  made  the  rounds  from  mess  to 
mess,  joining  in  their  hilarity,  and  addressing  each  one 
as  if  he  had  been  his  intimate  companion.  It  was  thus 
that  Sevier  made  himself  the  comrade,  friend,  and  idol 
of  his  soldiery.  They  looked  for  his  coming  as  soon  as 
he  had  seen  for  himself  that  the  sentinels  were  in  their 
proper  positions.  But  this  night  he  did  not  come.  He 
sat  by  his  camp-fire  in  moody  silence,  gazing  abstractedly 
into  the  blaze,  and  even  the  vivacity  of  his  friend  El- 
holm  failed  to  arouse  him.  He  gave  no  orders,  suggested 
no  plan,  made  no  preparation  for  either  attack  or  de- 
fense. All  through  the  night  he  sat  there,  absorbed  in 
his  own  reflections.  What  those  reflections  were  it  is  not 
difficult  to  conjecture,  for  we  know  the  man  and  his  self- 
sacrificing  history.  Did  he  not  think  of  his  many  years 
of  unselfish  devotion  to  his  country,  of  the  wealth  he 
had  poured  out  like  water  in  its  service,  of  the  many 
weary  marches  he  had  made,  the  battles  he  had  fought, 
the  deadly  perils  he  had  encountered,  to  give  it  peace 
and  freedom  ?    And  all  for  what  ?    To  be  driven  forth 


QUAKER  GUNS.  155 

from  the  soil  he  had  conquered,  and  the  peace  he  had 
won,  a  penniless  man  and  an  outlaw  !  And  then,  per- 
haps, other  thoughts  came  to  him.  Might  he  not  yet 
retrieve  his  fortunes  ?  This  man  Maxwell,  who  was  com- 
ing against  him,  would  in  his  hands  be  but  as  a  child  in 
the  grasp  of  a  giant.  Having  crushed  him,  might  he  not 
sound  the  border  slogan,  rally  the  whole  West  to  his  side, 
and  in  one  day  dismember  the  country  which  had  so  un- 
gratefully requited  his  unselfish  fidelity  ?  Doubtless  he 
might  have  done  so ;  and  perhaps  such  thoughts  came 
to  him,  for  a  tempting  devil  is  ever  at  our  ears  in  our 
hours  of  extremest  trial.  But  this  devil  did  not  know 
John  Sevier.  He  might  be  an  outlaw ;  he  might  be  a 
penniless  wanderer  in  the  land  he  loved  ;  and  even  worse 
might  yet  befall  him,  for  there  was  no  limit  to  the 
malice  of  his  enemies  ;  but  through  it  all  he  would 
stand  erect  and  say,  as  Jackson  said  at  a  later  period, 
'^I  will  die  in  the  last  ditch  before  I  will  see  this 
Union  disunited  !" 

Possibly  these  were  his  thoughts  while  he  sat  there, 
by  his  smoldering  camp-fire,  till  far  into  the  cold  gray 
of  the  winter  morning.  But  suddenly,  with  the  first 
streak  of  dawn,  there  came  an  explosion  of  a  regiment 
of  rifles ;  and,  springing  upon  his  horse,  Sevier  saw 
his  men  fleeing  like  frightened  deer  in  all  directions. 
Then  he  spurred  his  horse  into  the  thick-falling  snow, 
and,  for  the  first  time  in  his  life,  turned  his  back  upon 
his  enemies. 

A  heavy  snow-storm  had  set  in  at  midnight,  and  to 


156  JOHN  SEVIER, 

thaw  out  their  chilled  limbs  Sevier's  pickets  had  repaired 
to  the  nearest  camp-fires.  This  had  allowed  Maxwell  to 
approach  unperceived,  under  cover  of  the  snow  and  the 
darkness  ;  and,  unwilling  to  fire  upon  Sevier's  troops,  he 
had,  when  morning  dawned,  ordered  his  men  to  dis- 
charge, their  pieces  in  the  air.  Sevier's  men  aroused 
thus  suddenly  from  sleep,  taken  by  surprise  and  unwill- 
ing to  fight,  fled  without  firing  a  rifle,  which  ended  this 
Quaker  battle. 

Said  Parmenas  Taylor,  who  was  one  of  Maxwell's  men, 
and  subsequently,  with  Sevier,  one  of  Governor  Blount's 
Council :  *'  We  did  not  go  there  to  fight.  Neither  party 
intended  to  do  that.  Many  on  both  sides  were  unarmed, 
and  some  who  had  guns  did  not  even  load  them.  Most 
of  us  went  to  prevent  mischief,  and  did  not  intend  to  let 
the  neighbors  kill  one  another.  Our  men  shot  into  the 
air,  and  Sevier's  into  the  corners  of  the  house.  As  to 
the  storm  of  snow  keeping  the  men  from  taking  a  sure 
aim,  it  is  all  a  mistake.  Both  sides  had  the  best  marks- 
men in  the  world,  who  had  often  killed  a  deer,  and  shot 
it  in  the  head,  too,  when  a  heavier  snow  was  falling. 
The  men  did  not  try  to  hit  anybody.  They  could  easily 
have  done  so  if  they  had  been  enemies." 

As  Sevier  rode  away  from  this  bloodless  field  he 
was  met  by  messengers  from  the  border,  who  had  been 
sent  to  apprise  him  that  the  Indians  were  moving  upon 
the  western  settlements  in  great  numbers.  "In  a  mo- 
ment," says  Dr.  Eamsey,  "Sevier  was  himself  again, 
elastic,  brave,  energetic,  daring,  and  patriotic.     At  the 


QUAKER  GUNS.  157 

head  of  a  body  of  mounted  riflemen  be  was  at  once  upon 
tbe  frontier  to  guard  and  protect  its  most  defenseless 
points."  His  property  was  lost,  and  be  was  an  out- 
law ;  but  be  bad  yet  a  life  wbicb  be  might  give  to 
his  countrymen. 


CHAPTER  VIII. 

SEVIER  AS  Aiq^   OUTLAW. 

"Eight  or  nine  thousand  people  had  crossed  the 
[Holston]  riyer  and  settled  upon  lands  now  within  the 
counties  of  Greene  and  Hawkins  ;  others  had  crossed  the 
French  Broad ;  and  yet  others,  not  a  few,  were  settled 
between  Clinch  River  and  Cumberland  Mountain.  All 
of  these  were  there  in  violation  of  the  treaty  of  Hope- 
well. And  yet  they  were  there  by  treaties  with  the  In- 
dians, and  by  connivance  and  sanction  of  the  State. 
By  Sevier's  treaty  at  Dumplin  Creek  these  lands  were 
granted  to  the  white  people  for  settlement  and  homes. 
The  State  of  North  Carolina  had  issued  grants  to  her 
citizens  to  settle  upon  these  lands.  Under  authorities 
and  sanctions  of  this  character  these  thousands  of  hardy 
and  industrious  farmers  had  gone  there  ;  were  busily 
preparing  their  homes  there.  They  displaced  no  Indian, 
they  seized  no  one's  cabin  or  field  ;  they  found  it  an  al- 
most '  howling  wilderness,'  and  they  hastened  to  change 
the  whole  face  of  Nature  by  the  opening  of  farms  and 
building  of  houses.  But  now  these  Indians  complain  ; 
they  allege  that  these  settlers  have  trespassed  upon  In- 


SEVIER  AS   AN   OUTLAW.  159 

dian  territory,  and  demand  their  expulsion."*  Korth 
Carolina  listened  to  these  complaints,  and,  coolly  repudi- 
ating her  own  ofl&cial  grants  and  her  promises  of  protec- 
tion to  the  settlers,  she  ordered  a  portion  of  these  people 
off  the  lands  they  had  in  good  faith  occupied.  And  by  a 
most  curious  logic  she  drew  a  line  between  them.  Those 
north  of  the  French  Broad  and  Holston  she  would  keep 
faith  with ;  those  south  of  those  rivers,  holding  their 
lands  by  precisely  the  same  title,  she  would  abandon  to 
the  savage  mercy  provided  for  them  by  the  treaty  of 
Hopewell. 

As  near  as  can  be  ascertained,  the  people  south  of 
those  rivers  now  numbered  about  three  thousand,  of  whom 
not  far  from  seven  hundred  were  men  inured  to  frontier 
life,  and  expert  with  the  rifle.  The  country  they  occu- 
pied is  comprised  within  the  present  counties  of  Blount 
and  Sevier,  Tennessee — a  most  beautiful  region,  watered 
by  numerous  streams,  and  interspersed  with  wooded  hills 
and  grassy  valleys,  where  vegetation  grows  in  rank  luxu- 
riance, and  the  soil  yields  most  abundant  rewards  to  the 
husbandman.  All  over  this  delightful  region  could  now 
be  seen  the  clearings  of  the  white  settler.  At  first  a  soli- 
tary cabin  went  up  in  the  midst  of  a  dense  forest ;  then 
other  cabins  gathered  about  it,  and  the  whole  were  in- 
closed in  stout  palisades,  capable  of  resisting  any  small 
body  of  Indians.  Then  far  and  near  the  great  trees  were 
felled  or  girdled,  the  ground  was  broken  up  and  planted. 


*  Putnam's  "  History  of  Middle  Tennessee,"  p.  344. 


160  JOHN  SEVIER. 

and  soon  the  whole  clearing  blossomed  with  the  harvest. 
These  places  were  called  ''stations."  Not  a  vestige  of 
one  of  them  at  this  time  remains,  but  the  site  of  many  is 
indicated  by  the  smiling  hamlets  and  villages  that  now 
dot  the  whole  of  this  enchanting  region. 

"Within  the  walls  of  these  log  fortresses  the  settler 
made  his  home  ;  but  of  necessity  he  went  forth  into  the 
open  country  to  till  his  fields  and  care  for  his  cattle. 
But  he  never  did  this  without  his  trusty  dog  and  his  rifle 
beside  him.  Though  nominally  at  peace  with  the  whites, 
the  Cherokees  knew  that  these  people  were  delivered  over 
to  their  tender  mercy  by  the  treaty  of  Hopewell.  They 
avoided  any  attack  in  considerable  numbers,  from  fear  of 
provoking  a  conflict  with  Nolichucky  Jack  and  his  rifle- 
men, but  they  hung  about  the  stations  in  small  bodies, 
and  never  omitted  a  safe  opportunity  to  commit  a  theft 
or  do  a  murder.  Hence,  when  one  settler  plovred  his 
field,  another  stood  guard  over  him  in  some  commanding 
position  from  which  he  could  observe  an  approaching 
enemy.  Often  were  they  driven  to  seek  refuge  for  days 
within  the  walls  of  the  stations,  and  on  one  or  two  occa- 
sions the  more  exposed  were  forced  to  abandon  their 
homes,  and  fall  back  for  brief  periods  upon  the  older  set- 
tlements ;  but  there  never  was  any  permanent  ebb  in  the 
tide  of  population.  The  retreating  settler  soon  returned, 
re-enforced  by  other  immigrants,  and  gradually  he  ex- 
tended his  clearings  down  those  fertile  valleys  till  he  be- 
held the  rising  smoke  of  the  Cherokee  wigwams  on  the 
spot  where,  time  out  of  mind,  had  been  the  great  council- 


SEVIER  AS  AN   OUTLAW.  161 

house  of  the  nation.  And  even  here  only  force  had 
stayed  the  settler's  steps,  for  he  belonged  to  a  race 
which  has  no  watchword  but  ^'Forward!"  whose  en- 
croaching spirit  is  one  of  the  instrumentalities  by  which 
Providence  is  girdling  the  globe  with  law  and  civil- 
ization. 

In  consequence  of  these  encroachments  the  whole  of 
that  wide  district  had  now  become  one  broad  battle-field, 
where  the  white  man  had  met  the  red,  and  both  had 
gone  down  to  a  swift  destruction.     The  traveler  to-day 
will  scarcely  come  upon  a  spring,  or  a  ford,  or  a  wooded 
path  among  the  hills  in  all  that  region,  which  had  not, 
at  the  time  whereof  I  am  writing,  been  the  scene  of 
some  savage  atrocity,  or  some  heroic  exploit  of  the  white 
settler  battling  for  his  home  and  the  lives  of  his  wife  and 
children.     So  long  as  the  State  of  Franklin  existed,  the 
conflict  had  not  been  so  very  unequal;  but  that  State 
was   now   dissolved,    and   these   settlers— abandoned  by 
North  Carolina  and  outlawed  by  the  General  Govern- 
ment—were left  a  mere  handful  of  seven  hundred,  to 
cope  with  twelve  thousand  infuriated  savages,  who  now, 
in  overpowering  numbers,  were  said  to  be  moving  down 
upon  them.     But  the  settlers  were  not  altogether  aban- 
doned,   for  Nolichucky  Jack   was    hastening    to    their 
rescue.     He  rode  almost  alone,  a  proscribed  and  penni- 
less man,  bringing  nothing  but  the  sword  he  carried  and 
the  horse  he  bestrode  ;  but  in  his  very  name  there  was 
terror  to  these  savages.     So  the  settlers  took  heart  as 
they  gathered  behind  their  log  walls,  and  listened  for  the 


162  JOHN  SEVIER. 

rapid  tread  of  horses'  feet  which  should  announce  his 
coming. 

Sevier  rode  almost  alone,  for  his  designs  had  become 
known,  and — to  employ  his  own  words — his  '^  enemies 
were  making  use  of  every  diabolical  plan  in  their  power  " 
to  balk  his  intention  of  giving  succor  to  the  threatened 
settlers.  As  has  been  mentioned,  Joseph  Martin,  the 
concocter  of  the  treaty  of  Hopewell,  had  succeeded 
General  Shelby  in  command  of  the  troops  acting  under 
North  Carolina.  He  relished  no  better  than  Shelby  the 
holding  of  a  divided  command — the  acting  as  general  of 
a  skeleton  brigade,  while  a  mere  private  citizen  held  con- 
trol of  the  actual  military  strength  of  the  district.  It 
was  not  for  this  that  he  had  plotted  the  overthrow  of 
Sevier,  nor  would  his  ambition  be  satisfied  with  the  mere 
shadow  without  the  substance  of  authority.  He  had 
been  appointed  to  Sevier's  position,  but  he  could  not 
fill  it  without  gaining  over  to  himself  Sevier's  followers, 
and  driving  their  beloved  leader  from  the  Territory.  He 
was  subtle,  sleek,  and  sinuous  ;  and  burrowing  under- 
ground seems  to  have  been  the  mode  to  which  he  natu- 
rally resorted  to  attain  his  objects.  And,  indeed,  in  no 
other  way  could  he  accomplish  his  present  purpose,  for 
Sevier  was  so  firmly  rooted  in  the  affections  of  the  peo- 
ple that  any  open  assault  upon  him  would  surely  recoil 
upon  himself,  as  it  had  upon  Tipton,  whose  friends  were 
fewer  now  than  at  the  beginning. 

Martin's  plans  were  furthered  by  the  fact  that  there 
had  arisen   ^*a  new  king    in    Egypt,    who    knew   not 


SEVJER  AS   AN   OUTLAW.  163 

Joseph" — Governor  Caswell  having  been  succeeded  by 
Samuel  Johnston,  a  wortliy  man,  but  wholly  ignorant  of 
western  affairs,  and  only  anxious  to  end  the  discontent 
in  the  speediest  manner  possible.  From  him  Martin 
secured  permission  to  remove  all  the  militia  officers 
lately  appointed  by  North  Carolina,  with  the  sole  excep- 
tion of  the  colonels — Tipton,  Maxw^ell,  and  Ilutchins — 
and  to  reinstate  in  tbeir  places  Sevier's  captains,  or  such 
others  as  might  be  elected  by  the  men  themselves.  This 
was  restoring  the  old  organization,  excepting  only  its 
head,  Sevier ;  and  Martin  counted  confidently  upon 
thereby  gaining  full  control  of  the  military  strength  of 
the  Territory.  It  was,  in  truth,  a  master-stroke  of 
policy  ;  but  it  failed  for  lack  of  co-operation  on  the  part 
of  Sevier's  captains.  Those  scarred  veterans  looked 
askance  at  the  brand-new  parchments  which  greeted 
them  by  their  old  titles.  They  had  probably  never  heard 
of  the  play  of  ^'Hamlet"  with  the  part  of  Hamlet  omit- 
ted ;  but  they  put  the  same  thought  into  their  vernacular 
language,  and  said  to  one  another,  "Who  can  ride  the 
bay  mare  but  our  old  commander  ?"  Having  said  this, 
they  tossed  the  parchments  aside,  and  thought  no  more 
of  General  Martin. 

This  was  the  condition  of  affairs  when,  on  the  even- 
ing of  March  15,  1788,  Sevier  rode  into  the  little  town  of 
Greeneville,  on  his  rapid  way  to  the  border.  Though 
the  county-seat  of  Greene  County,  and  the  recent  capital 
of  the  State  of  Franklin,  Greeneville  was  then  not  much 
of  a  town.     It  was  merely  a  score  of  log-cabins,  clustered 


164  JOHN  SEVIER. 

around  a  court-house  also  of  logs,  and  without  windows, 
or  other  than  a  single  opening,  in  which  hung  a  plank 
door  on  stout  wooden  hinges.  Opposite  to  this  imposing 
temple  of  justice  was  a  log-cabin  somewhat  larger  than 
the  rest,  and  having  before  it,  perched  upon  a  tall  pole, 
a  huge  sign — a  yellow  sun  rising  over  red  mountains,  and 
casting  its  mellow  rays  upon  the  name  of  **  Thomas 
Hughes,  Innkeeper."  Beneath  this  sign,  and  beyond 
the  rays  of  the  aforesaid  rising  sun,  was  a  smaller  board, 
which  announced  to  all  comers,  "Entertainment  for 
Man  and  Beast,"  at  the  moderate  rate  of  "one  shilling 
for  diet,  fourpence  for  lodging,  sixpence  for  pasture  and 
stable,  eightpence  for  corn  per  gallon,  and  sixpence  per 
half-pint  for  liquor."  There  being  eight  shillings  in  a 
North  Carolina  dollar,  it  will  be  seen  from  these  "tavern 
rates"  that  any  one  with  but  a  moderate  supply  of  legal 
currency  could  then  take  his  ease  in  a  backwoods  inn  for 
an  almost  indefinite  period. 

Before  this  rude  hostelry  Sevier  now  alighted  with 
the  one  hundred  and  fifty  men  who  had  followed  him 
from  Washington  County,  and  here  he  was  met  by  a 
number  of  his  captains,  who  apprised  him  of  the  new 
tactics  which  Martin  had  adopted,  and  of  a  report,  every- 
where industriously  circulated,  that  any  officer  or  man 
serving  under  him  was  to  be  expressly  outlawed  by  North 
Carolina.  Sevier  heard  the  tidings  without  emotion,  for 
he  was  a  man  who  took  Fortune's  ordinary  "buffets  and 
rewards  with  equal  thanks  "  ;  but  instantly  he  decided  to 
give  all  the  aid  he  could  to  the  designs  of  his  enemy.    As 


SEVIER   AS   AN   OUTLAW.  165 

soon  as  his  men  had  somewhat  refreshed  themselves  he 
called  them  all  about  him,  and  dispatched  nearly  the 
whole  troop  in  various  directions  to  call  his  old  captains 
together  for  a  conference  upon  the  ensuing  Friday.  The 
emergency,  he  said,  was  pressing ;  every  man  must  turn 
out,  for  he  conceived  the  settlements  to  be  in  imminent 
danger. 

They  came,  to  the  number  of  about  three  hundred — 
nearly  all  of  Sevier's  late  subalterns— clad  in  linsey  leg- 
gins  and  buckskin  hunting-sliirts,  and  mounted  on  fleet 
horses,  every  man  having  his  sword  by  his  side,  his  pistols 
or  hunting-knife  in  his  belt,  and  his  trusty  rifle  slung 
to  the  pommel  of  his  saddle.  They  were  all  of  stalwart 
frame,  strong  and  wiry,  with  bronzed  faces,  resolute 
looks,  and  a  certain  cool  and  dauntless  bearing,  which 
showed  them  familiar  with  battle  and  with  victory. 
Such  another  body  of  men  it  would  have  been  hard  to 
find  even  in  those  days,  and  west  of  the  Alleghanies. 
One  glance  at  them  was  enough  to  account  for  Sevier's 
amazing  exploits  in  border  warfare ;  and  the  greeting 
they  gave  him  proclaimed  that,  though  now  a  proscribed 
and  branded  man,  Xolicliucky  Jack  was  still  the  un- 
crowned king  of  the  backwoods. 

It  was  early  March,  and  the  morning  was  cold,  but 
no  building  in  the  little  town  would  hold  the  concourse, 
so  they  gathered  in  the  open  air,  under  the  great  trees 
which  grew  about  the  court-house.  Each  man  upon  his 
horse,  they  ranged  themselves  in  silence,  several  men 
deep,  around  Sevier  and  Cocke  and  Kennedy,  till  they 


166  JOHN  SEVIER. 

formed  a  circle,  in  the  center  of  which  were  the  three 
generals,  and  on  the  circumference  the  hundred  and  fifty 
men  who  had  shared  in  the  recent  bloodless  battle. 
Kennedy  was  the  first  to  speak.  Briefly  he  explained 
the  situation — the  service  offered  by  Martin,  the  out- 
lawry threatened  by  North  Carolina.  Each  man  was  free 
to  do  as  he  pleased  ;  but,  as  for  him,  he  had  fought  and 
bled  with  his  general,  and,  let  North  Carolina  do  her 
worst,  he  should  not  desert  his  old  commander.  The  feel- 
ing in  his  words  found  a  responsive  chord  in  the  breast 
of  every  man  present,  and  at  once  there  went  up  a  shout 
from  every  throat  that  rang  through  the  old  woods  and 
was  echoed  back  from  the  distant  mountains.  Then  the 
men  crowded  more  closely  around  their  leader,  each  one 
with  some  expression  of  unwavering  devotion. 

Sevier  was  a  man  of  the  keenest  sensibilities,  and  he 
must  have  felt  deeply  these  tokens  of  attachment.  It  is 
said  that  he  sat  his  horse  for  some  time  in  silence,  and 
that  when  he  spoke  his  speech  had  none  of  his  usual 
rapid  and  energetic  utterance.  He  thanked  the  men  for 
their  devotion  to  him,  and  he  hoped  the  time  would  soon 
come  when  he  might  again  lead  them  against  the  enemy  ; 
but  now,  it  was  better  that  they  should  part.  They 
were  in  the  presence  of  a  peril  greater  than  any  which 
had  yet  confronted  the  settlements,  and  division  in  the 
country  might  be  attended  with  disastrous  consequences  ; 
therefore,  it  was  his  wish  that  each  man  should  accept 
the  commission  offered  him  by  North  Carolina,  rejoin 
and  recruit  his  company,  and  make  his  men  ready  for 


SEVIER   AS   AN   OUTLAW.  167 

the  struggle  that  was  impending.  lie  himself,  with  the 
few  who  were  with  him,  would  go  on  to  the  frontier, 
where  the  French  Broad  settlers,  without  hope  of  other 
aid  than  his,  were  threatened  with  speedy  extermination. 
However,  he  knew  the  border  settlers,  and  he  had  confi- 
dence that  with  them  he  could  beat  off  the  Cherokees.  If 
the  Creeks  should  rise,  Georgia  would  call  for  volunteers, 
and  then,  as  he  was  a  general  in  the  army  of  that  State, 
his  old  comrades  might  again  serve  under  him  without 
violating  any  law  whatever.  Xow,  it  was  best  that  every 
man  should  return  to  his  home,  and  quietly  submit  to 
the  rule  of  Xorth  Carolina.  As  for  himself,  his  first 
duty  was  to  stand  by  the  French  Broad  settlers.  That 
done,  some  way  would  be  opened  by  which  he  might  be 
of  further  service  to  his  country.  The  sky  over  his  head 
was  now  dark,  but  the  sun  was  in  the  heavens,  and  it 
might  rise  unclouded  on  the  morrow. 

This  is  the  substance  of  what  Sevier  said  to  his  offi- 
cers, when  denied  so  much  as  a  single  volunteer  by 
Xorth  Carolina.  Even  then  he  could  have  rallied  the 
whole  West  to  his  support ;  but  he  preferred  to  send  his 
men  to  their  homes,  and  to  go  himself,  almost  alone,  to 
meet,  with  but  a  handful,  a  whole  nation  of  savages.  If 
this  is  ambition,  then  is  it  ambition  that  would  lift  a 
more  ordinary  man  than  Sevier  to  the  altitude  of  a  hero. 

The  men  knew  their  leader,  and  his  tone  and  manner 
convinced  them  that  he  had  taken  an  irrevocable  resolu- 
tion ;  £0  they  attempted  neither  remonstrance  nor  en- 
treaty, but  with  moistened  eyes  and  quivering  lips  they 


168  JOHN   SEVIER. 

gathered  about  him,  each  one  to  say  some  last  word  at 
parting.  One  after  another  he  took  them  by  the  hand, 
and  then  without  another  word  he  waved  his  sword  to 
his  hundred  and  fifty  men,  and  turned  his  horse's  head 
to  the  westward.  Among  the  troop  that  followed  him 
were  some  of  his  old  ofiBcers  who  were  resolved  to  share 
his  fortunes,  whatever  they  might  be.  Among  these 
were  Kennedy,  his  recent  brigadier ;  Cozby,  one  of  his 
oldest  subalterns  ;  Hubbard,  the  slayer  of  Untoola ;  and 
Evans,  who  had  left  his  company  of  two  hundred  with 
Robertson,  and  hurried  over  the  Cumberland  Mountain 
as  soon  as  he  heard  of  the  misfortunes  of  his  old  com- 
mander. Others  were  moving  out  from  the  circle  in 
front  of  the  court-house  when  Sevier  halted  his  horse, 
and,  turning  to  them,  asked  that  none  should  attempt 
to  follow  him.  Thereupon  Kennedy  requested  that  he 
might  go  on  to  see  if  more  force  were  not  needed  at  the 
front ;  if  it  were  not,  he  would  at  once  return  and 
accept  the  colonel's  commission  already  tendered  him 
by  North  Carolina.  This  Kennedy  said  and  did  ;  but 
the  others  said  nothing  —  Cozby  and  Evans,  because 
they  had  resolved  not  to  leave  their  old  leader  ;  Hub- 
bard, because  being  with  Sevier  he  would  be  the  sooner 
within  rifle-shot  of  the  Cherokees.* 

Of  this  gathering  Martin  soon  heard,  and  about  it  he 
wrote  to  the  Governor  of  North  Carolina  as  follows  : 
He  dates  his  letter  **  Long  Island  (near  the  junction  of 

*  From  conversations  with  Dr.  Ramsey. 


SEVIER   AS  AN   OUTLAW.  169 

the    North    and    vSoiith    Forks     of    the    Ilolston)    24th 
March,  1788."     In  it  he  says  : 

**Sir:  The  confusion  of  this  country  induces  me  to 
lay  before  your  Excellency,  by  express,  our  present  situa- 
tion, which  is  truly  alarming.  I  sent,  on  Saturday  last, 
to  Sevier  and  his  party,  requiring  them  to  lay  down  their 
arms,  and  submit  to  the  laws  of  North  Carolina,  but  can 
get  no  answer,  only  from  Colonel  Joseph  Hardin,  which 
I  forward  ;  though  I  know  that  on  Friday  last  they  met 
in  convention,  to  concert  some  plan.  The  bearer  of  my 
express  to  them  informs  me  that  he  understood  that 
Sevier  had  gone  toward  the  French  Broad  since  the 
10th  instant ;  that  Colonel  Kennedy,  with  several  others, 
had  gone  the  same  way  to  carry  on  an  expedition  against 
the  Cherokee  Indians,  which,  I  am  well  assured,  wish  to 
be  at  peace — except  the  Chickamauga  party,  which  could 
be  easily  driven  out  of  that  country  if  your  Excellency 
should  recommend  it.  I  am  somewhat  doubtful  that 
Sevier  and  his  party  are  embodying,  under  the  color  of 
an  Indian  expedition,  to  amuse  us,  and  that  their  real 
object  is  to  make  an  attack  on  the  citizens  of  this  State  ; 
to  prevent  which,  I  have  ordered  the  different  colonels  to 
have  their  men  in  good  order,  until  I  can  hear  from  your 
Excellency  ;  at  which  time,  I  hope,  you  will  give  me 
directions  in  what  manner  to  proceed  in  this  uncommon 
and  critical  situation,  for  which  I  shall  wait  till  the 
return  of  the  express  before  I  shall  take  any  decisive 
steps. 


170  JOHN  SEVIER. 

^'  Should  the  Franks  still  persist  to  oppose  the  laws 
of  this  State,  would  it  not  be  well  to  order  General 
McDowell  to  give  some  assistance — as  a  few  men  from 
there  will  conyince  them  that  North  Carolina  is  deter- 
mined to  protect  her  citizens  ?  " 

Three  days  only  prior  to  dispatching  this  letter  to 
Governor  Johnston,  this  same  Martin  wrote  to  General 
Kennedy  as  follows  : 

"I  am  greatly  distressed  and  alarmed  at  the  late  pro- 
ceedings of  our  countrymen  and  friends,  and  must  beg 
your  friendly  interposition,  in  order  to  bring  about  a 
reconciliation,  which,  you  well  know,  was  my  object  in 
accepting  the  brigadier's  commission.  I  am,  perhaps,  as 
little  afraid  of  stepping  forth  in  the  field  of  action  as  any 
other  man  ;  but  I  would  be  sorry  to  imbrue  my  hands  in 
the  blood  of  my  countrymen  and  friends,  and  will  take 
every  method  in  my  power  to  prevent  anything  of  that 
nature.  In  our  present  situation,  nothing  will  do  but  a 
submission  to  the  laws  of  North  Carolina,  which  I  most 
earnestly  recommend  to  the  people.  You  well  know  this 
is  the  only  way  to  bring  about  a  separation,  and  also  a 
reconciliation  for  our  worthy  friend  [Sevier],  whose 
situation  at  this  time  is  very  disagreeable.  I  most 
sensibly  feel  for  him,  and  will  go  very  great  lengths 
to  serve  him.  Pray  see  him  often,  and  give  him  all  the 
comfort  you  can. 

"I  am  told  that  a  certain  officer  [Tipton]  says  that 


SEVIER   AS  AN   OUTLAW.  lYl 

if  I  issue  an  order  for  a  reconciliation,  that  it  shall  not 
be  obeyed ;  but  I  shall  let  that  gentleman  know  I  am  not 
to  be  trifled  with.  Pray  write  me  all  what  the  people 
will  do,  and  whether  you  will  accept  your  commission, 
which  I  hope  you  will.  Have  the  militia  immediately 
officered  and  prepared  for  action,  as  I  expect  a  general 
Indian  war  shortly.  Please  give  my  best  respects  to  the 
people  in  general.  Tell  them  my  object  is  reconciliation, 
not  war." 

Hypocrisy  is  said  to  be  '*  the  homage  that  vice  pays 
to  virtue."  Of  this  character  was  the  tribute  which  this 
man  paid  to  Sevier.  A  comparison  of  the  two  letters  is 
enough  to  show  his  deep  duplicity,  for  in  every  particular 
one  letter  contradicts  the  other.  As  subsequent  events 
show,  Martin's  sole  motive  in  writing  to  Kennedy  was  to 
detach  him  from  Sevier  ;  his  aim  in  addressing  the  Gov- 
ernor was  to  prepare  that  official's  mind  for  proceeding 
against  the  Franklin  leader  on  a  charge  of  high  treason  ; 
hence  Martin's  insinuation  that  Sevier  was  levying  troops 
to  attack  the  citizens — a  charge  which  he  must  have 
known  to  be  outrageously  false. 

But,  ignorant  of  these  designs  of  his  enemies,  Sevier 
rode  rapidly  on  to  Houston's  Station.  Every  step  of  his 
way  was  an  ovation,  and,  despite  his  every  effort  to  pre- 
vent it,  before  he  had  crossed  the  French  Broad  his  troop 
had  been  augmented  by  about  a  hundred  of  his  old 
soldiers,  who,  whether  he  would  or  not,  insisted  upon 
marching  with   him  against  the  enemy.     But  when  he 


172  JOHN  SEVIER. 

had  once  forded  that  riyer,  the  people  went  wild  with 
excitement.  They  flocked  about  him  wherever  he  went, 
strong  men  weeping,  anxious  women  clasping  him  in 
their  arms,  and  little  children  clinging  to  his  knees — for 
had  he  not  come  to  deliyer  them  from  a  great  danger  ? 
Said  an  old  man  of  ninety-seven  to  me  in  1880  :  '^He 
was  a  great  man,  was  'Chucky  Jack.  I  remember  him 
right  well,  sir.  I  was  a  boy  of  five  years  when  he  came 
across  the  French  Broad  to  fight  the  Indians.  We  all 
went  out  to  greet  him.  He  shook  hands  with  dad,  and 
gave  him  some  orders,  for  dad  had  fit  under  him  ;  then 
he  bent  over  his  saddle  and  kissed  mother,  and  asked  dad 
to  lift  me  up  that  he  might  kiss  me,  too.  Dad  put  me 
up  on  the  saddle,  and  'Chucky  Jack  took  me  in  his  arms, 
patted  me  on  the  head,  and  said  that  I  should  soon  grow 
up  to  be  as  brave  a  man  as  my  father.  Ah  !  sir,  I  shall 
never  forget  that."  When  time  had  razed  about  every- 
thing else  from  the  old  man's  brain,  and  he  could  no 
longer  recognize  even  his  own  children,  he  vividly  re- 
membered 'Chucky  Jack,  and  his  taking  him  up  in  his 
arms  and  speaking  kind  words  to  him  ! 

The  Cherokees  had  not  yet  appeared  in  the  settle- 
ments, but  the  traders  had  come  in,  reporting  that  the 
whole  nation  was  about  to  go  upon  the  war-path.  The 
Indians  had  heard  of  the  overthrow  of  Sevier,  and 
counted  upon  an  easy  conquest  of  the  French  Broad  set- 
tlements. That  effected,  they  proposed  to  move  for- 
ward and  drive  every  settler  beyond  the  Big  Pigeon — 
the  eastern  limit  of   their  hunting-grounds,   as   defined 


SEVIER   AS  AN   OUTLAW.  173 

by  the  treaty  of  Hopewell.     On  arriving  at  the  settle- 
ments, it  was  probable  they  would  break  into  small  par- 
ties, and  attack  simultaneously  every  one  of  the  scattered 
stations.     Sevier  took  his  measures  accordingly.     The 
weaker  stations  he   ordered   to  be  abandoned,  and  the 
people  to  gather  together  in  the  stronger  ones.     The  de- 
fenses of  these  were  strengthened,  and  garrisons  detailed 
for  them,  no  man  of  which  was  to  leave  his  post  except 
at  the  call  of  the  commander.     He,  with  a  select  body  of 
about  four  hundred  men,  well  mounted,  was  to  stand 
ready  to  meet  any  attack  in  force,  or  to  invade  the  In- 
dian country,  as  circumstances  might  dictate.     In  all 
previous  conflicts,  invasion  had  proved  the  most  effective 
mode   of  driving  back  the  enemy.     His  own  wigwam 
threatened,  the  Cherokee  would  leave  the  settler  in  peace, 
and  hasten  to  the  defense  of  his  wife  and  children.     The 
success  of  such  movements  depended  upon  boldness  and 
celerity,  but  those  were  the  characteristics  of  Sevier's 
warfare.     His  heaviest  blows  were  ahvays  struck  in  the 
heart  of  the  enemy's  country,  and  often  when  he  was  en- 
compassed by  twenty  times  his  own  numbers. 

His  preparations  were  now  speedily  made,  and  soon 
the  whole  region  south  of  the  French  Broad  was  a  forti- 
fied camp,  in  which  each  man  had  his  post,  and  every 
one  his  allotted  duty.  Boys  of  fifteen  were  enrolled,  and 
even  women  took  to  molding  bullets  and  practicing  with 
the  rifle.  But  they  were  of  the  "home-guard,"  intended 
to  act  only  in  repulsing  some  determined  assault  upon 
the  stations.     Thus  they  stood  to  their  arms,  the  whole 


174  JOHN  SEVIEPw. 

of  the  scattered  settlements ;  but  nearly  two  months 
rolled  away  before  they  had  any  hostile  tidings  from  the 
Cherokees.  The  Indians  had  probably  heard  of  Sevier's 
presence  among  the  settlers,  and  had  deferred  the  in- 
tended attack  till  they  could  make  it  in  irresistible 
numbers. 

Meanwhile,  the  commissioners  appointed  by  Con- 
gress, by  an  act  of  October  26,  1787,  to  treat  with  the 
Creeks,  had  not  yet  met  those  Indians.  The  Creeks  con- 
tinued to  be  troublesome,  and  Georgia  was  fast  embody- 
ing troops  to  march  into  their  country,  exterminate  the 
"perfidious  nation,"  or  to  make  peace  with  them  on  no 
**  other  terms  than  a  total  surrender  of  their  country  and 
themselves."  This  the  Governor  communicated  to  Se- 
vier in  a  letter  dated  February  19, 1788,  but  which  Sevier 
did  not  receive  till  early  in  April.  Sevier's  answer  is 
here  given,  because  it  shows  that  at  this  time  he  had  be- 
come fully  apprised  of  the  machinations  of  his  enemies. 
It  was  as  follows  : 

"Franklin,  April  10,  1788. 

'^Sir:  Yours  of  the  19th  of  February  I  had  the 
honor  to  receive.  In  our  present  confused  condition  of 
affairs,  I  am  not  able  to  reply  with  that  accuracy  and 
satisfaction  to  your  Excellency  I  could  wish.  Our  coun- 
try is,  at  this  time,  almost  in  a  state  of  anarchy,  occa- 
sioned, as  we  suggest,  by  the  North  Carolinians  stimulat- 
ing a  party  to  act  in  a  hostile  manner  against  us.  .  .  . 
It  is  with  great  pleasure  I  inform  you  that  a  great  num- 


SEVIEPw   AS   AN   OUTLAW.  175 

bcr  of  our  people  discover  a  ready  disposition  to  aid  your 
State  against  your  savage  enemies  ;  and,  let  matters  oc- 
cur as  they  may,  if  I  am  spared,  I  purpose  joining  your 
army  with  a  considerable  number  of  volunteers,  to  act  in 
concert  with  you  against  the  Creeks,  though  many  of  our 
enemies  are  making  use  of  every  diabolical  plan  in  their 
power  in  order  to  destroy  our  laudable  intention. 

"  I  beg  your  Excellency  will  be  so  obliging  as  to  ad- 
vise us  from  time  to  time  of  your  intended  operations ; 
and,  should  your  campaign  be  procrastinated  until  the 
fall  season,  I  am  of  opinion  you  will  get  a  much  greater 
number  of  men  from  this  countr}'." 

The  first  tidings  from  the  Cherokees  was  an  atrocious 
deed,  at  which  the  blood  curdles.  A  settler  named  Kirk 
had  built  his  cabin  on  the  south  side  of  Little  River, 
about  twelve  miles  from  the  present  site  of  Knoxville. 
It  was  surrounded  by  the  usual  stockade,  but  was  far  too 
weak  to  resist  attack  from  any  considerable  body  of  In- 
dians. Kirk  had  been  warned  to  repair  to  some  one  of 
the  larger  stations,  but  he  considered  himself  in  no  dan- 
ger, being  on  good  terms  with  the  Indians,  and  having 
always  treated  them  with  extreme  kindness  and  hospi- 
tality ;  so  he  continued  to  occupy  his  exposed  position, 
with  his  mother,  his  wife,  and  nine  children,  all  under 
fifteen  jTars  of  age.  His  eldest  son,  a  lad  of  sixteen,  was 
away  with  Sevier  at  Hunter's  Station. 

One  morning  in  early  May,  Kirk  had  occasion  to  visit 
a  neighbor  a  few  miles  distant,  and  in  his  absence  there 


176  JOHN  SEVIER. 

came  to  his  cabin  an  Indian  named  Slim  Tom,  with 
whom  the  family  was  well  acquainted.  He  asked  for 
food ;  it  was  given  him,  and  he  went  away  with  many 
expressions  of  gratitude.  This  gratitude  he  showed  by 
returning  in  about  half  an  hour  with  fifty  painted  sav- 
ages. I  need  not  detail  what  followed.  Not  one  was 
spared — the  aged  grandmother,  nor  the  young  babe  at 
the  breast.  All  were  remorselessly  butchered  ;  and  when 
Kirk  returned,  a  few  hours  later,  he  beheld  them — all 
who  bore  his  name  except  the  stripling  I  have  mentioned 
— stretched,  bloody  and  disfigured,  on  the  grass  in  the 
door-yard  of  his  dwelling. 

The  mingled  grief,  and  horror,  and  rage  of  this 
man — thus  at  one  blow  bereft  of  mother,  and  wife,  and 
children — can  only  be  conceived  of  by  the  imagination. 
Almost  crazed  by  the  calamity,  he  left  his  dead  unburied 
on  the  ground,  and  with  the  speed  of  a  deer  rushed  for 
help  to  Sevier  at  Hunter's  Station.  Sevier  had  heard 
such  tales  before,  but  this  was  one  of  peculiar  atrocity. 
Instantly  he  sent  out  mounted  scouts  to  ascertain  if  this 
was  an  isolated  raid  or  an  organized  attack  by  a  party 
belonging  to  a  larger  body,  which  had  separated,  and 
spread  itself  among  the  scattered  settlements.  At  night 
the  scouts  returned,  reporting  no  other  trace  of  Indians 
except  the  trail  of  the  murderers,  which  they  had  fol- 
lowed to  the  Little  Tennessee,  where  it  still  went  south- 
ward. 

Gathering  his  men  together  to  the  number  of  about 
four  hundred,  Sevier  set  out  on  the  following  morning 


SEVIER  AS   AN   OUTLAW.  177 

for  the  heart  of  the  Indian  country  ;  and  with  him  went 
young  Kirk,  and,  as  second  in  command,  the  Major 
Hubbard  who  was  known  as  "  the  Indian-slayer."  He  fol- 
lowed tlie  trail  of  tlie  murderers,  and  so  rapid  was  his 
march  that  early  on  the  ensuing  day  he  was  fifty  miles 
away,  on  the  banks  of  the  Iliwassee.  Here  he  came 
upon  a  large  town,  filled  with  warriors,  among  whom  the 
murderers  of  the  Kirk  family  had  taken  refuge.  With- 
out a  moment's  delay,  Seyier  rode  into  this  town,  and 
then  began  the  work  of  retribution.  Panic-stricken,  the 
Indians  soon  fled,  but  numbers  were  shot  down  in  the 
street  of  the  town,  and  as  they  were  attempting  to  escape 
by  the  riyer.  Before  noon  eyery  hut  and  eyery  wigwam 
in  the  place  was  a  mass  of  smoking  cinders. 

Then  Seyier  turned  his  face  toward  the  Little  Ten- 
nessee and  Tellico,  where  were  the  homes  of  Old  Tassel, 
John  Watts,  and  twelye  hundred  Ottari  warriors.  The 
towns  were  well-nigh  deserted,  but  such  men  as  were  in 
them  were  either  shot  down  or  driyen  back  to  the  mount- 
ains ;  then  the  torch  was  applied  to  half  a  dozen  yillages, 
and  soon  all  that  was  left  of  them  were  so  many  heaps 
of  smoldering  ruin.  The  small  number  of  men  he 
encountered  satisfied  Seyier  that  the  bulk  of  the  Ottari 
were  away  upon  a  raid  against  the  settlements  ;  and  leav- 
ing Hubbard  and  about  two  hundred  men  to  complete 
the  destruction  he  had  begun,  he  hastened  back  with  the 
remainder  of  his  force  to  Hunter's  Station. 

Hubbard  was  encamped  on  the  south   side   of  the 
Little   Tennessee,  and    on    the   northern  bank,  near  a 
17 


178  JOHN  SEVIER. 

small  stream  still  called  Abraham's  Creek,  liyed  an 
old  Indian  named  Abraham,  who  was  known  far  and 
near  as  the  friend  of  the  white  settlers.  Before  hostili- 
ties began  he  had  said  that,  if  his  nation  went  to  war,  he 
should  remain  at  home,  and  not  lift  a  hand  against  his 
white  brothers.  Seyier  was  no  sooner  away  than  Hub- 
bard sent  a  messenger  to  this  friendly  Indian,  inviting 
him  to  cross  the  river  to  his  camp.  Abraham  came  with 
his  son,  and  then  Hubbard  asked  them  to  go  to  Old 
Tassel,  and  invite  him  to  come  there  to  a  talk,  for  the 
whites  desired  to  be  at  peace  with  the  Cherokees.  This 
they  did ;  and  soon  the  Cherokee  king  appeared  on  the 
opposite  bank  of  the  river  with  five  of  his  principal  chief- 
tains— probably  all  of  the  "  head-men  "  who  were  not 
away  on  the  war-path.  On  seeing  them,  Hubbard  raised 
a  white  flag,  and  invited  them  over  to  his  encamp- 
ment. 

The  Old  Tassel  knew  Hubbard,  and  it  is  doubtful  if 
he  would  have  trusted  him  had  he  not  supposed  that 
Sevier  was  with  the  soldiery.  It  was  generally  known 
that  Sevier  had  been  leading  the  troops,  and  this  ac- 
counted for  the  general  panic  which  had  everywhere 
been  seen  among  the  Cherokees.  They  feared  the 
Franklin  leader,  but  they  trusted  him  implicitly.  Old 
Tassel  was  anxious  for  peace,  and,  unsuspicious  of  treach- 
ery, he  now  crossed  the  river  with  his  chieftains.  He 
was  met  in  a  friendly  manner  by  Hubbard,  who  told  him 
that  Sevier  was  away,  but  would  soon  return,  and  mean- 
while he  and  the  chieftains  had  better  wait  for  him  in 


SEVIER  AS   AN   OUTLAW.  179 

an   Indian   cabin,   which   stood   near   the   bank   of  the 


river. 


The  chieftains  and  the  friendly  Abraham  had  no 
sooner  entered  this  cabin  than  a  number  of  armed  set- 
tlers noiselessly  surrounded  the  building,  so  that  escape 
from  it  became  impossible.  Then  Hubbard  and  young 
Kirk  entered  the  cabin,  the  latter  with  a  naked  toma- 
hawk in  his  hand— the  same  savage  weapon  w^hich  had 
slaughtered  his  mother,  his  brothers  and  sisters,  and  his 
aged  grandmother.  Hubbard  folded  his  arms  and  looked 
at  the  Indians,  in  his  glance  the  vengeful  hate  which  had 
come  to  be  the  ruling  element  in  his  nature.  But  the 
lad  did  not  wait  for  this  signal.  Instantly  raising  the 
tomahawk,  he  buried  it  in  the  brain  of  the  nearest 
Indian,  as  he  sat  on  the  ground  at  one  extremity  of  the 
half  circle  in  which  they  had  formed  themselves.  The 
others,  seeing  from  this  the  fate  which  awaited  them, 
cast  their  eyes  upon  the  ground,  and,  without  a  word, 
bowed  their  heads  to  the  stroke  which  had  slaughtered 
their  comrade.  Soon  their  bodies  were  dragged  from  the 
hut  and  thrown  unburied  upon  a  pile  of  debris  on  the 
bank  of  the  river.  Thus  ingloriously  perished  the  peace- 
loving  Rayetayah — known  among  the  whites  as  Old  Tas- 
sel—an able  man,  and  by  far  the  best  king  who  within 
historic  times  had  ruled  over  the  Cherokecs. 

Words  can  not  describe  the  indignation  and  horror  of 
Sevier  when,  returning  on  the  following  day,  he  learned 
that  this  dastardly  deed  had  been  committed.  Bitterly 
he  upbraided  Hubbard  and  young  Kirk,  and  the  settlers 


180  JOHN  SEVIER. 

who  had  abetted  the  atrocity.  The  answer  of  Hubbard 
and  the  others  is  not  recorded ;  but  it  is  said  that  young 
Kirk  told  Sevier  that,  had  he  suffered  at  the  murderous 
hands  of  the  Indians  as  he  had  suffered,  he  would  have 
done  as  he  had  done.  Sevier  was  merely  a  volunteer 
leader,  with  only  such  power  as  was  given  him  by  the 
settlers.  Almost  unanimously  they  approved  of  Kirk's 
deed  as  an  act  of  retributive  justice,  and  therefore  Sevier 
was  powerless  to  punish  it. 

There  were  not  wanting  enemies  of  Sevier  who 
charged  him  with  complicity  in  this  crime,  and  with 
being  conveniently  absent  to  escape  its  responsibility ; 
but  this  was  indignantly  denied  by  Hubbard,  who  as- 
sumed the  entire  odium  of  the  deed,  and  boasted  that  he 
would  do  the  like  again  had  one  of  his  neighbors  a  like 
provocation.  Writing  on  this  subject,  the  historian  Hay- 
wood says:  ** Sevier  never  acted  with  cruelty  before  or 
since ;  he  often  commanded  ;  he  was  never  accused  of 
inhumanity :  he  could  not  have  given  his  consent  on  this 
occasion.  Considering  existing  circumstances,  he  could 
not  maintain  as  much  authority  now  as  at  other  times  ; 
he  was  proscribed  and  driven  from  his  home.  .  .  .  They 
[the  settlers]  consulted  only  the  exasperated  feelings  of 
the  moment,  and  had  never  been  instructed  in  the  rules 
of  refined  warfare." 

This  ill-advised  and  atrocious  crime  would  naturally 
inflame  the  passions  of  the  Cherokees  to  the  highest 
pitch  of  frenzy.  The  bulk  of  the  nation  felt  deeply 
wronged  by  the  continued  encroachments  of  the  settlers  ; 


SEVIER  AS  AN   OUTLAW.  181 

but  this,  with  one  or  two  imiiatient  outbreaks,  they  had 
borne  for  six  years,  restrained  by  the  pacific  counsels  of 
Old  Tassel,  and  by  a  fear  of  Xolichucky  Jack  and  his 
four  thousand  riflemen.  But  now  the  blood  of  their 
leading  chieftains  had  been  most  wickedly  shed,  and 
blood  for  blood  was  the  cardinal  doctrine  of  their  religion 
— one  of  whose  chief  tenets  was  that  the  warrior  who 
lost  his  life  in  avenging  the  slaughter  of  a  kinsman  was 
at  once  translated  to  the  hapjiy  hunting-grounds,  there 
to  be  a  mighty  chief  forever.  The  head  chieftain  of  the 
tribe  was  regarded  as  not  merely  the  kinsman  but  the 
father  of  the  whole  people.  The  lifting  of  a  hand  against 
him  was  instant  death  to  the  most  redoubtable  warrior ; 
how  much  worse  was  his  treacherous  murder  by  a  hated 
enemy  !  The  killing  of  Old  Tassel  was,  therefore,  a  per- 
sonal wrong  to  every  Cherokee,  and  the  avenging  of  it  a 
religious  duty,  which,  if  he  failed  to  perform,  the  celes^ 
tial  hunting-ground  would  be  closed  against  him  forever. 
Hence,  this  one  deed  had  created  a  nation  of  fanatics, 
who  would  rush  into  battle  regardless  of  death,  and  in- 
tent only  on  the  slaughter  of  the  settlers.  Moreover,  the 
Cherokees  would  be  sure  to  be  secretly  re-enforced  by  the 
Creeks,  and  abundantly  supplied  with  arms  and  ammu- 
nition by  the  Spaniards,  who  now  were  intensely  exasper- 
ated against  the  settlers  because  of  Robertson's  decided 
rejection  of  their  overtures  for  an  alliance.  Hard  beset 
as  he  was,  the  intrepid  pioneer  had  refused  their  pro- 
posals, disdainfully  saying  :  *'  The  Spaniards  are  devils  ; 
and  the  worst  devil  among  them   is  the  half-Spaniard, 


182  JOHN  SEVIER. 

half-Frenchman,  half-Scotchman,  and  altogether  Creek 
scoundrel — McGillivray  ! '' 

Thus  had  the  unwise  killing  of  Old  Tassel  greatly  in- 
creased the  difficulty  of  the  task  which  Sevier  had  under- 
taken. Never  before,  it  seems  to  me,  were  the  odds  so 
largely  against  him ;  not  when,  with  but  forty  men,  he 
repulsed  Old  Oconostota,  nor  when,  with  only  nine  hun- 
dred and  fifty,  he  scaled  and  carried  the  rugged  escarp- 
ment of  King's  Mountain.  For  active  operations  he  had 
in  reality  but  about  two  hundred  and  fifty  men — the 
veterans  who  had  voluntarily  followed  him  from  the 
older  counties.  The  seven  hundred  others  were  settlers, 
who,  though  zealous,  brave,  and  ready  to  fight  to  the 
death,  were  an  unstable  force — with  him  to-day  but  away 
to-morrow — drawn  off  by  the  first  rumor  of  danger  to 
the  station  which  held  their  wives  and  children.  Never, 
at  any  one  time,  was  Sevier  at  the  head  of  more  than 
four  hundred. 

But,  surrounded  by  such  disheartening  circumstances, 
never  once  did  Sevier's  courage  fail  him,  never  once 
did  he  call  one  of  his  old  comrades  to  his  aid,  or  ask  for 
help  from  the  older  counties.  His  genius  seemed  to  rise 
with  the  occasion,  and  a  careful  study  of  his  life  fails  to 
exhibit  him  ever  so  truly  great  as  when,  a  proscribed  and 
ruined  man,  he  forgot  his  own  interests,  and,  without 
hope  of  pay  or  fame  or  other  reward,  he  threw  him- 
self, almost  alone,  a  forlorn  hope  between  those  out- 
lawed settlers  and  their  certain  destruction.  He  seems 
to  have  regarded  his  self-imposed  and  herculean  task 


SEVIER   AS   AN   OUTLAW.  183 

simply  as  a  duty ;  and  he  went  about  it  with  cheerful  de- 
liberation, adjusting  his  means  to  his  ends  with  a  sort  of 
mathematical  precision  which  made  success  a  foregone 
conclusion.  This  exact  forecasting  of  results,  this 
ability  to  achieve  great  ends  with  small  means,  were 
the  most  characteristic  traits  of  Sevier's  military 
genius.  They  enabled  him,  with  never  more  than  a 
thousand  men,  to  do  a  great  work  in  American 
history. 

]Srow  for  five  long  months  Sevier  was  every  day  in  the 
saddle— sometimes  with  forty  men,  sometimes  with  four 
hundred— striking  blow  after  blow,  and  with  every  blow 
totally  discomfiting  the  enemy.  Recorded  in  detail,  his 
exploits  in  this  campaign  would  fill  a  volume.  I  can  re- 
count only  a  few — just  enough  to  show  the  character  of 
the  conflict. 

After  seeing  that  the  bodies  of  Old  Tassel  and  his 
chieftains  had  received  decent  burial,  Sevier  led  his 
troop  rapidly  back  to  Hunter's  Station,  for  he  knew  that, 
as  soon  as  the  Cherokees  had  made  their  first  wail  over 
the  dead,  the  whole  nation  would  swarm  upon  the  settle- 
ments. His  first  step  was  to  dispatch  messengers  to  the 
various  stations,  warning  them  to  be  on  their  guard,  to 
observe  strict  discipline,  and  on  no  account  to  venture 
out  either  singly  or  in  small  parties  without  the  utmost 
caution.  If  threatened  with  attack,  they  were  to  apprise 
him  at  once  by  swift  messengers,  and  to  this  end  he 
should  keep  them  advised  of  his  movements.  It  had 
been  well  had  his  instructions  been  observed  ;  but  with 


184:  JOHN  SEVIER. 

most  men  familiarity  with  danger  breeds  a  contempt  of 
it,  and  it  was  so  with  these  settlers. 

It  was  not  long  before  all  of  the  scattered  stations 
were  attacked  almost  simultaneously ;  and  then  Sevier 
became  well-nigh  ubiquitous,  hastening  from  one  to  an- 
other, and  from  all  driving  off  the  savages  before  they 
had  done  any  material  damage.  Then  came  a  lull  in  the 
savage  operations.  It  began  to  be  thought  that  the 
Indians  had  withdrawn  into  their  own  country,  and  a 
party  of  twenty-one  settlers  ventured  across  the  Little 
Tennessee,  on  a  scouting  expedition.  Incautiously  they 
entered  an  open  field,  when  they  were  suddenly  sur- 
rounded by  a  large  body  of  savages.  Sixteen  of  the 
settlers  were  shot  on  the  spot,  one  was  wounded  and 
taken  prisoner,  and  the  remaining  four  were  chased  to 
the  gates  of  the  fort  on  the  present  site  of  Knoxville. 
Then  the  Indians  turned  back  to  make  an  assault  on 
Houston  Station. 

Five  families  were  housed  at  this  fort — all  told,  per- 
haps forty  persons,  only  ten  of  whom  could  handle  a 
rifle.  With  the  first  alarm,  one  of  the  riflemen  was  sent 
off  to  Sevier,  while  the  others  essayed  to  defend  the  place 
till  his  arrival.  The  Indians  quickly  surrounded  them, 
and  soon  it  rained  bullets  on  the  little  inclosure.  One 
of  the  garrison  incautiously  exposed  himself  for  a  mo- 
ment, and  in  that  moment  an  Indian  ball  pierced  his 
brain,  and  sent  him  to  the  great  accounting.  But  the  re- 
maining eight  fought  on,  the  men  firing  and  the  women 
loading  the  rifles  and  molding  the  bullets.     Their  fire 


SEVIER  AS   AN   OUTLAW.  185 

was  rapid,  and  their  aim  certain,  and  many  a  savage  fell 
never  to  rise   again  ;    but  the   Indians  fought  with  a 
desperation  never  before  shown  by  the  Cherokees.     At 
length  the  tilling  between  the  logs  was  shot  away,  and 
every  now  and  then  a  ball  came  into  the  building,  and  in 
dangerous  proximity  to  the  occupants.    A  young  woman, 
subsequently  the  wife   of  Senior  S.   Doak,  D.  D.,  was 
kneeling  by  the  fire,  molding  bullets,  when  an  Indian 
ball  passed  over  her  head,  and,  bounding  back  from  the 
wall,  fell  at  her  feet.     It  was  flattened  by  the  blow,  and 
catching  it  up  she  molded  it  anew,  and,  handing  it  to 
the  nearest  rifleman,  said:  ''Here  is  a  ball  run  out  of 
Indian  lead  ;  send  it  back  to  them  as  quickly  as  possible. 
It  is  their  own;  let  them  have  it  in  welcome  I"     The 
conflict  lasted  for  nearly  an  hour,   when,   discouraged 
with  their  loss  of  life,  the  Indians  suddenly  drew  ofE 
from  the  station. 

Sevier  was  twenty-five  miles  away,  but,  setting  out  at 
once,  he  met  the  Indians  on  their  retreat.  They  num- 
bered over  a  hundred,  and  only  a  few  men  were  with 
him  ;  but  they  no  sooner  sounded  his  well-known  yell 
than  the  savages  broke  and  scattered  in  all  directions. 
Sevier  determined  on  pursuit,  for  he  had  meanwhile 
heard  of  the  massacre  at  the  Little  Tennessee,  and  such 
deeds  he  always  punished  by  a  speedy  invasion.  Going 
on  to  the  station,  he  sent  out  messengers  to  call  in  his 
men,  and  on  the  following  day,  with  Captain  Evans  and 
about  two  hundred  men,  he  invaded  the  Indian  country, 
laying  waste  all  in  his  pathway.     At  Chilhowee  he  met  a 


186  JOHN  SEVIER. 

large  force  of  savages,  whom  he  at  once  attacked  and 
routed,  killing  thirteen  outright,  who  were  left  on  the 
ground,  while  a  larger  number  of  wounded  were  borne 
away  by  the  Indians.  Then  he  returned  again  to  the 
protection  of  the  settlements. 

For  more  than  a  month  the  fight  was  around  eyery 
station,  and  every  where  at  the  critical  time  appeared 
Sevier  with  his  little  band  of  riflemen.  Day  and  night 
he  was  in  motion,  and  it  is  said  that  now  for  one  whole 
week  he  never  for  one  hour  was  out  of  his  saddle. 
Few  lives  were  lost  among  the  settlers,  for  they  had 
learned  caution  ;  but  the  bones  of  many  a  Cherokee  were 
left  to  bleach  in  the  summer's  sun  far  away  from  the 
resting-places  of  his  ancestors.  The  upper  hunting- 
grounds  are  pleasant  in  the  dreams  of  the  untutored 
savage ;  but  the  instinct  of  life  is  strong  in  him,  and 
'Chucky  Jack  the  Cherokees  had  long  regarded  as  under 
the  special  protection  of  the  Invisible  Powers.  It  was 
they  who  turned  aside  the  bullets  which  were  aimed  at 
him,  and  fighting  with  him  was  therefore  merely  a  strug- 
gle with  destiny.  The  contest  was  hopeless  ;  so  at  last, 
beaten  and  crest-fallen,  John  Watts,  Double-Head,  and 
the  Bloody  Fellow  drew  oS  their  dispirited  followers, 
and  led  them  back  to  their  mountain  fastnesses. 

They  had  no  sooner  gone  than  Sevier  resolved  upon 
another  invasion  of  their  country.  The  Cherokees  must 
be  made  to  feel  the  full  bitterness  of  the  war  they  had 
brought  upon  the  settlers ;  and,  taking  with  him  only 
Cozby  and  Evans,  and  a  hundred  and  forty  men,  he 


SEVIER   AS  AN   OUTLAT^.  187 

plunged  at  once  into  the  heart  of  the  Cherokee  nation. 
It  seems  foolhardy  in  the  extreme,  this  onslaught  of  but 
a  handful  uj^on  three  thousand  infuriated  savages  ;  but 
Sevier  knew  his  soldiers,  and  they  knew  him,  and  every 
one  of  them  believed  in  his  invincibility.  It  was  just 
such  apparently  desperate  enterprises  that  had  given  the 
Cherokees  the  superstitious  belief  that  Sevier  was  under 
supernatural  protection.  Sevier  knew  this,  and  counted 
upon  it  as  an  auxiliary  more  potent  than  a  thousand 
rifles. 

Crossing  the  Little  Tennessee  under  the  cover  of 
night,  Sevier  made  a  rapid  march  to  the  tall  Unakas, 
and,  scaling  them,  fell  with  fire  and  sword  upon  the 
Valley  towns,  where  dwelt  fully  one  third  of  the  Chero- 
kee nation.  He  spread  havoc  and  death  through  all  that 
region,  shooting  down  every  man  he  met,  and  taking 
none  prisoners.  Everywhere  his  route  was  marked  by 
smoking  villages ;  and  everywhere,  without  making  so 
much  as  a  single  stand,  the  Indians  fled  before  him. 
Then,  the  work  of  destruction  finished,  he  turned  his 
face  homeward. 

lie  had  now  been  ten  days  in  the  Indian  country, 
and  he  knew  that  the  whole  nation  would  rise  in  his  rear 
and  attempt  to  intercept  his  march  to  the  settlements. 
Destiny  might  be  on  his  side,  but  here,  the  Cherokees 
saw,  was  a  chance  to  take  destiny  at  a  disadvantage, 
amid  rugged  defiles  and  mountain-passes,  where  ten  men 
might  bar  the  way  of  a  hundred.  John  Watts  was  a 
half-breed,  and  less  superstitious  than  his  people.     The 


188  JOHN  SEVIER. 

eagle  of  the  pale-faces  was  in  a  trap,  and,  if  he  could  but 
capture  or  destroy  him,  it  was  certain,  now  that  Old  Tas- 
sell  was  dead,  that  he — John  Watts,  at  the  age  of  thirty- 
five — would  become  the  archimagus  of  the  nation.  It 
was  the  highest  object  that  could  be  presented  to  Chero- 
kee ambition ;  so  Watts  called  in  his  warriors  to  the 
number  of  eight  hundred,  and  lay  in  wait  for  Sevier  at 
the  point  where  he  would  attempt  to  recross  the  Unakas. 
But  Sevier  had  counted  on  this  contingency,  and  he 
moved  with  extreme  caution  as  he  approached  the  foot 
of  the  mountains. 

The  usual  route  was  by  a  narrow  pass  along  the  bank 
of  the  Little  Tennessee,  where  it  breaks  through  the  lofty 
range  amid  scenery  that  is  grand  beyond  description. 
The  river  here  flows  over  a  rocky  channel,  lined  with 
precipitous  cliffs,  under  which  the  path  winds  for  a 
fourth  of  a  mile,  only  wide  enough  for  a  single  horse- 
man. Here  Watts  had  posted  his  men,  concealed  among 
the  rocks,  three  hundred  on  one  side  of  the  river  and 
two  hundred  on  the  other,  while  another  force  of  two 
hundred  lay  in  wait  at  the  outlet  of  the  defile.  Hemmed 
in  on  one  hand  by  the  tall  cliffs,  on  the  other  by  the  deep 
and  rapid  river,  the  moment  the  white  men  entered  the 
pass  they  would  be  a  broad  target  for  the  Indian  rifles ; 
and,  if  any  ran  the  gantlet  in  safety,  they  would  be 
mown  down  by  the  two  hundred  who  were  lying  in  am- 
bush at  the  outlet  beyond.  Thus  destruction  to  all 
would  have  been  certain ;  not  a  man  who  entered  that 
narrow  pass  would  have  lived  to   tell  the  story.     The 


SEVIER   AS   AN   OUTLAW.  189 

route  was  the  one  Seyier  would  naturally  have  taken ; 
but,  to  make  sure  of  his  falling  into  the  trap,  Watts 
placed  another  hundred  men  some  distance  in  advance  of 
the  pass,  with  orders  to  fall  back  on  Sevier's  approach, 
and  thus  lure  him  on  to  destruction.  Then,  sure  of  his 
prey.  Watts  waited  the  approach  of  Sevier,  not  dreaming 
that  he  would  attempt  to  climb  the  steep  and  rugged 
mountain  on  horseback. 

But  the  cunning  of  Watts  overreached  itself,  and 
served  merely  to  warn  Sevier  of  his  danger.  It  is  proba- 
ble that  he  would  not  have  essayed  the  perilous  passage 
under  any  circumstances,  for  he  was  as  cautious  as  he  was 
bold ;  but,  experienced  as  he  was  in  Indian  tactics,  this 
decoy  party  plainly  disclosed  to  him  the  ambuscade. 
Paying  no  sort  of  attention  to  the  retreating  Indians,  and 
striking  at  once  for  the  foot  of  the  mountain,  Sevier  led 
his  men  up  its  precipitous  side,  over  slippery  rocks  and  fal- 
len trees,  and  through  tangled  undergrowth,  where  never 
before  horseman  had  traveled.  They  moved  rapidly,  but 
often  had  to  dismount  to  cut  their  way  or  to  help  their 
horses  up  some  steep  acclivity  ;  and  it  was  between  sun- 
set and  dark  before  they  stood  upon  the  summit  of  the 
mountain.  Here  they  halted  for  a  while  to  rest  their 
jaded  beasts ;  but  it  was  not  long  before  they  began  the 
equally  toilsome  descent  of  the  northern  slope.  Evans 
was  one  of  the  most  trusted  of  Sevier's  captains,  and  he 
was  placed  in  the  rear,  that  being  the  position  requiring 
the  greatest  vigilance.      Now,  when   Evans   had  gone 

about  two  hundred  yards  down  the  mountain,  one  of  his 

18 


190  J0H2^  SEVIER. 

men  requested  permission  to  return  for  some  small  arti- 
cle lie  had  left  behind  at  the  halting-place  on  the  sum- 
mit. At  the  summit  the  man  heard  the  forward  glide  of 
a  large  body  moving  through  the  underbrush,  and,  has- 
tening to  Sevier,  apprised  him  of  the  danger.  At  once 
every  rifleman  was  ordered  to  dismount  and  unsling  his 
rifle,  in  readiness  for  immediate  action. 

Thus  they  went  down  the  mountain,  in  momentary  ex- 
pectation of  attack,  leading  their  horses,  and  picking  their 
way  among  rocks  and  precipices,  with  no  light  but  that 
of  the  dying  moon  struggling  through  flying  clouds  and 
through  the  thick,  overhanging  branches  of  the  forest. 
At  their  every  step  they  heard  the  steady  glide  of  the  eight 
hundred  savages ;  but,  unmolested,  they  at  last  reached 
the  foot  of  the  mountain.  Here  the  country  was  still 
broken  by  ravines  and  encumbered  with  rocks  and  mat- 
ted undergrowth.  It  was  no  fit  field  for  a  battle  ;  there- 
fore every  man  was  ordered  to  mount,  and  they  sped 
away  to  an  open  place  about  ten  miles  distant,  on  the 
plains  of  Tellico.  Here  the  riflemen  went  into  camp, 
and,  a  double  force  of  sentinels  being  placed  to  guard 
against  surprise,  they  cooked  their  suppers,  and  then, 
overpowered  with  fatigue,  sank  into  such  sleep  as  is  apt 
to  follow  a  day  of  toilsome  marching.  But  no  sleep 
came  to  Sevier.  Soon  the  sentries  reported  that  the  In- 
dians were  cautiously  encircling  the  encampment ;  but 
he  let  his  men  sleep  on,  while  he,  with  only  Cozby  and 
Evans,  walked  the  picket-rounds  all  the  night,  intent 
upon  every  sound  that  came  from  the  near-by  forest.    He 


SEVIER  AS  AN   OUTLAW.  191 

expected  an  attack  just  before  day,  when  men  sleep  the 
mo=t  soundly  ;  but  the  morning  came  without  any  alarm 
from  the  savages.  They  were  eight  hundred  to  his  one 
hundred  and  forty  ;  but  their  hearts  failed  them.  John 
Watts  could  not  inspirit  them  to  an  attack,  and  soon  Se- 
vier led  his  force  unmolested  back  to  the  settlements, 
with  not  a  man  of  it  so  much  as  wounded. 

Chagrined  at  this  second  escape  of  the  great  eagle  of 
the  pale-faces,  John  AVatts  now  made  a  determined  effort 
to  arouse  the  Cherokees  for  another  descent  upon  the 
settlements.  Should  a  great  nation,  he  said,  be  beaten 
back  by  a  handful  of  white  men  ?  What  was  "Chucky 
Jack  more  than  other  men  that  the  bullets  should  dodge 
him  ?  Xorth  Carolina  had  outlawed  him ;  the  Great 
Council  of  the  pale-faces  was  against  him ;  and  should 
]^Q  —  one  outlawed  man  —  make  women  of  the  entire 
Cherokee  people  ?  No  !  let  the  whole  nation  rise,  and 
drive  these  white  men  beyond  the  Big  Pigeon  ;  and  let 
them  not  rest,  day  or  night,  till  they  had  taken  ven- 
geance for  the  murder  of  Old  Tassel. 

And  the  whole  nation  rose,  and  fell  again  in  over- 
whelming numbers  upon  the  French  Broad  settlements. 
Again,  and  for  three  long  months,  the  whole  region  was 
a  battle-field,  and  again  was  Sevier  everywhere  perform- 
ing prodigies  of  valor.  From  station  to  station  he  rode 
by  night  and  by  day,  and  everywhere  he  rode  there  were 
battle  and  victory.  His  exploits  during  this  period  can 
be  likened  only  to  those  of  some  knight-errant  of  the 
middle  ages ;  but  neither  in  history  nor  in  fiction  do  I 


192  JOHN  SEVIER. 

know  of  anything  that  equals  this  marvelous  campaign 
of  the  border  hero  !  The  fame  of  it  crossed  the  rivers, 
and  awoke  a  thrill  of  pride  among  the  old  soldiers,  who 
adored  him ;  and  it  even  swept  over  the  mountains, 
and  became  subject  of  comment  by  the  two  journals 
which  then  shed  a  dim  political  light  upon  benighted 
North  Carolina.  One  of  these,*  published  at  Ealeigh, 
had  the  following  account  of  one  of  his  exploits, 
and,  as  it  is  characteristic  of  them  all,  it  is  here 
copied  : 

^'On  the  21st  of  September  a  large  body  of  the  ene- 
my, not  less  than  two  hundred,  attacked  Sherrell's  Sta- 
tion late  in  the  evening.  Sevier  that  day,  with  forty 
horsemen,  was  out  ranging,  and  came  on  the  Indians' 
trail,  making  toward  the  inhabitants ;  he  immediately 
advanced  after  them,  and  opportunely  arrived  before  the 
fort  when  the  Indians  were  carrying  on  a  furious  attack. 
On  coming  in  view  of  the  place,  he  drew  up  his  troop  in 
close  order,  made  known  his  intention  in  a  short  speech 
to  relieve  the  garrison  or  fall  in  the  attempt,  and  asked 
who  was  willing  to  follow  him.  All  gave  unanimous 
consent ;  and,  at  a  given  signal,  made  a  charge  on  the 
enemy  as  they  were  busily  employed  in  setting  fire  to  a 
barn  and  other  out-buildings.  The  Indians  gave  way 
and  immediately  retired  from  the  place,  and  the  gallant 
little  band  of  heroes  reached  the  fort,  to  the  great  joy  of 
the  besieged.     This  exploit  was  performed  under  cover 

*  "  North  Carolina  State  Gazette." 


SEVIER   AS  AN    OUTLAW.  193 

of  the  night,  and,  conformably  to  the  Governor  of  Frank- 
lin's usual  good  fortune,  not  a  man  of  his  party  was 

hurt.'* 

Before  this  period,  Sevier's  old  comrades  along  the 
Ilolston  and  Watauga  had  clamored  to  be  led  to  his  aid  ; 
but  this  Governor  Johnston  could  not  permit,  for  it 
would  be  an  infraction  of  the  treaty  of  Hopewell.  At 
last,  however,  he,  in  a  manner,  gave  way  to  the  pressure 
by  consenting  to  an  expedition  against  the  Chickamau- 
gas.  These  Indians  were  Cherokees,  and  had  been  active 
in  the  attacks  on  the  French  Broad  settlers ;  but  they 
were  a  horde  of  lawless  banditti,  with  a  hand  against 
every  man,  and  war  upon  them  was  at  any  time  justifi- 
able;  besides,  Martin  had  said  to  the  Governor  that  they 
could  '*be  easily  driven  out  of  that  country." 

Accordingly,  Martin  called  his  men  together,  to  the 
number  of  about  four  hundred  and  fifty,  for  a  descent 
upon  the  Chickamaugas.  The  settlers  rendezvoused  at 
White's  Fort,  now  Knoxville  —  nearly  all  of  them  old 
soldiers  of  Sevier,  and  under  such  of  his  former  officers 
as  Colonels  Love  and  Kennedy.  They  were  a  fine  body 
of  men,  trained  to  Indian  fighting ;  and  as  they  passed 
through  the  French  Broad  country  the  hearts  of  the 
settlers  must  have  beat  high  with  hope,  for  with  less 
than  half  the  number  of  these  same  men  Sevier  had 
put  to  rout  the  two  thousand  Chickamaugas.  Surely 
with  such  a  force  Martin  would  be  able  to  make  short 
work  of  the  pestiferous  gang,  and  thus  relieve  the  settle- 
ments from  their  midnight  marauding. 


194  JOHJT  SEVIER. 

Martin  crossed  the  Hiwassee,  and  then  marched  di- 
rectly to  the  Chickamauga  towns  on  the  Tennessee,  near 
the  present  site  of  Chattanooga.  On  his  apj)roach  the 
Indians  deserted  the  nearest  town,  and  fell  back  to  the 
point  where  the  river  breaks  through  the  Cumberland 
Mountain.  Here  they  made  a  stand,  and  were  attacked 
by  the  troops  in  an  open  field  between  the  bluff  and  the 
riyer.  Martin's  men  fought  desperately,  but,  being 
badly  led,  were  soon  driven  back  with  the  loss  of  three 
of  their  bravest  captains,  who  fell  mortally  wound- 
ed. Martin  attempted  to  rally  them  to  a  second  attack, 
but  all  but  sixty  refused  his  lead  ;  and  thus  the  expedi- 
tion resulted  in  disastrous  failure,  not  because  the  men 
would  not  fight,  but  because  they  would  not  with  him  as 
their  leader.  Then  he  led  them  ingloriously  back  to 
their  homes,  and  the  expedition  had  no  further  result 
than  to  inspirit  the  Cherokees  to  a  renewed  attack  upon 
the  settlers.  Colonel  Joseph  Brown,  subsequently  an 
officer  under  Jackson,  but  then  a  boy  of  sixteen,  and  a 
prisoner  among  the  Chickamaugas,  speaks  as  follows  of 
this  event  and  its  consequences,  in  a  narrative  he  wrote 
at  the  request  of  General  Zollicoffer,  of  Nashville,  and 
which  is  now  in  possession  of  the  Tennessee  Historical 
Society  :  "At  one  time  a  Colonel  Martin  got  to  Chatta- 
nooga, within  twenty  miles  of  where  I  lived ;  but  the 
Indians  killed  three  of  his  captains,  and  he  killed  only 
one  Shawnee  and  one  negro.  No  Cherokees  were  killed  ; 
but  they  raised  an  army  of  three  thousand  men — borrow- 
ing one   thousand   Creeks,   to  go  with  fifteen  hundred 


SEVIER   AS  AN   OUTLAW.  195 

Cherokees  on  foot,  and  five  hundred  mounted  Cherokees, 
many  of  whom  were  half-breeds  and  dressed  like  white 
men.  They  kept  [these  last]  ahead  of  the  army,  and 
white  men  who  met  them  thought  them  a  scouting 
party  of  whites,  and  were  by  this  scheme  readily  taken 
prisoners.  Several  men  were  taken  in  this  w^ay  the  day 
they  got  to  Gillespie's  Fort.  Their  object  in  raising  the 
army  was  to  drive  all  the  whites  from  the  south  side  of 
the  French  Broad." 

This  new  invasion  also  Sevier  beat  back  ;  and,  having 
done  so,  he  made  another  of  his  unexampled  raids  into 
the  Indian  country,  going  on  this  occasion  down  the 
Coosa  River  as  far  as  the  present  town  of  Rome,  in 
Georgia.  Again  he  returned  without  the  loss  of  a  man, 
either  killed  or  wounded. 

This  last  invasion,  more  wide-spread  in  destructiveness 
than  the  previous  ones,  broke  completely  the  spirit  of  the 
Cherokees.  Even  John  Watts,  the  most  indomitable  of 
their  chieftains,  said  to  his  warriors  :  "  The  wind  and  the 
fire  fight  for  the  great  eagle  of  the  pale-faces.  We  can 
no  longer  contend  with  him.  From  his  high  station  in 
the  clouds  he  sees  our  exposed  places ;  and  wiien  he 
swoops  down,  his  hot  breath  blasts  our  corn-fields  and 
consumes  our  wigwams.  His  flight  is  like  the  wind  ;  his 
blow  like  the  thunderbolt.  Who  can  stand  before  him  ? 
He  claims  the  French  Broad  lands.  He  will  be  our 
friend  if  we  let  his  people  plant  their  corn  in  peace.  He 
speaks  well.  Let  it  be  so  ;  for  it  is  the  voice  of  the 
Great  Spirit." 


196  JOHN  SEVIER. 

This  was  the  end  of  the  war  upon  the  French  Broad 
settlers.  It  had  lasted  actively  for  five  months,  the  set- 
tlers having  to  meet  not  less  than  ten  times  their  own 
number  of  well-armed  and  infuriated  savages.  Having 
thus  secured  peace  to  the  border,  Sevier,  in  the  latter 
part  of  October,  returned  to  his  family,  from  whom 
he  had  now  been  separated  for  more  than  half  a  year. 
In  this  period  he  had  not  only  saved  the  French  Broad 
settlers,  but  had  rolled  back  an  invasion  from  North 
Carolina,  which,  had  it  been  successful,  would  have 
brought  upon  the  frontier  the  whole  strength  of  the 
Southwestern  Indians.  He  had  done  this;  and  yet,  at 
this  very  time,  as  we  shall  soon  see,  North  Carolina  v/as 
lending  her  aid  to  a  plot  for  his  destruction. 


CHAPTER   IX. 


OVERTHROW   AXD   TRIUMPH. 


While  the  fame  of  Sevier  was  tlius  ringing  through- 
out the  eastern  counties,  and  all  men  were  watching  in 
enthusiastic  admiration  the  unequaled  valor  and  amazing 
generalship  by  which  he  beat  back  and  finally  subdued 
the  infuriated  Cherokees,  it  seems  incredible  that  one 
man  could  be  found,  within  hearing  of  his  deeds,  who 
could  construe  them  into  treason  against  North  Carolina. 
But,  nevertheless,  it  was  so  ;  and  that  man  was  the  Gov- 
ernor of  that  Commonwealth.  Martin  had  followed  up 
hi?  insinuation  that  Sevier  was  levying  troops  to  war 
upon  the  citizens  by  letters  to  Governor  Johnston,  in 
which  he  made  adroit  misrepresentations  of  Sevier's  con- 
duct, charging  him  with  barbarous  and  inhuman  acts 
(such  as  the  killing  of  Old  Tassel),  and  with  making  un- 
provoked war  upon  the  Indians,  when  they  desired  to  be 
at  peace  with  the  white  people.  Technically,  Sevier  may 
have  been  an  insurgent,  both  against  North  Carolina  and 
the  United  States,  inasmuch  as  he  was  obstructing  the 
execution  of  the  treatv  of  Hopewell ;  Jui±3-4e-4isten  to 


198  JOHN  SEVIER. 

such  a  charge,  the  Governor  had  to  forget  that  blood  is 
thicker  than  water,  and  to  shut  his  eyes  to  the  fact  that 
every  blow  struck  by  Sevier  was  in  the  interest  of  hu- 
manity. He  heard  Martin's  falsehoods  in  silence  from 
March  until  late  in  July,  and  then  he  wrote  that  worthy 
as  follows  : 

"Sevier,  from  the  state  of  his  conduct  set  forth  in 
your  letter,  is  incorrigible,  and  I  fear  we  shall  have  no 
peace  in  your  quarter  till  he  is  proceeded  against  to  the 
last  extremity." 

At  the  same  time  the  Governor  gave  directions  for 
Sevier's  arrest,  in  the  following  letter  to  Judge  David 
Campbell  of  the  Superior  Court : 

"IIlLLSBOROUGH,  29<7t  Jw?j/,  1788. 

''  SiK  :  It  has  been  represented  to  the  Executive  that 
John  Sevier,  who  styles  himself  Captain-General  of  the 
State  of  Franklin,  has  been  guilty  of  high  treason,  in 
levying  troops  to  oppose  the  laws  and  government  of 
this  State,  and  has,  with  an  armed  force,  put  to  death 
several  good  citizens.  If  these  facts  shall  appear  to  you 
by  the  affidavit  of  credible  persons,  you  will  issue  your 
warrant  to  apprehend  the  said  John  Sevier,  and  in  case 
he  can  not  be  sufficiently  secured  for  trial  in  the  district 
of  Washington,  order  him  to  be  committed  to  the  public 
gaol"  [over  the  mountains]. 

Well  knowing  that  Sevier  did  not  style  himself  "Cap- 
tain-General of  the   State   of  Franklin,"  and  had  not 


OVERTHROW   AND   TRIUMPH.  199 

"witli  an  armed  force  put  to  death  several  good  citi- 
zens," Judge  CampbeU  promptly  refused  to  issue  the 
required  order  of  arrest,  giving  his  reasons  to  the  Gov- 
ernor. These  reasons  do  not  appear  to  have  been  satis- 
factory to  that  functionary,  for  he  at  once  gave  similar 
instructions  to  Judge  Spencer,  who  resided  over  the 
mountains,  but  was  about  to  proceed  to  Jonesboro  to 
hold  a  session  of  court  in  connection  with  Campbell. 
The  North  Carolina  judge  issued  the  warrant,  and  it  was 
in  readiness  for  execution  when,  after  more  than  six 
months'  absence,  Sevier  returned  to  his  family. 

At  home,  Sevier  found  that  his  wife  had  recovered 
his  negroes,  paid  his  debts,  and  got  his  domestic  affairs 
generally  into  a  satisfactory  condition.  Court  was  then 
in  session,  and,  after  a  few  days  spent  at  home,  he  visited 
the  county-seat,  to  meet  his  old  friends  and  acquaint- 
ances. He  was  cordially  greeted  by  all,  and  he  heard 
nothing  of  the  warrant,  because  its  issue  had  been  kept  a 
profound  secret  among  the  few  who  were  plotting  his 
destruction.  No  attempt  was  made  to  arrest  him  while 
he  was  in  Jonesboro,  for  his  enemies  well  knew  that  the 
effort  made  publicly  would  bo  futile,  and  might  result  in 
bloodshed.  He  must  be  taken  unawares,  suddenly,  and 
under  cover  of  night,  or  the  w^hole  country  would  rise 
for  his  protection.  Hence,  they  watched  for  an  oppor- 
tunity to  take  him  secretly,  and  hurry  him  over  the 
mountains  before  tidings  of  his  arrest  could  get  abroad 
among  the  people.  Such  an  opportunity  soon  presented 
itself.     Both  Tipton  and  Martin  were  at  Jonesboro — the 


200  JOHN  SEVIER. 

latter  holding  a  muster  of  his  recently  defeated  militia — 
but  Sevier  was  unsuspicious  of  danger.  He  appeared 
openly  in  all  public  places,  and  late  in  the  evening  rode  a 
short  distance  out  of  town  to  spend  the  night  with  a 
friend.  There  he  woujd  be  remote  from  all  assistance, 
and  could  be  easily  captured. 

Sevier  had  no  sooner  gone  than  Tipton  got  together 
eight  or  ten  desperadoes  for  the  purpose  of  arresting 
him  ;  and,  having  seen  this  done,  Martin  hastened  to  the 
house  of  a  Colonel  Robinson,  one  of  Sevier's  friends,  that 
he  might  be  able  to  show  an  alihi,  and  thus  escape  the 
odium  of  the  transaction.  As  Tipton  rode  out  of  town 
with  his  squad,  he  met  Colonel  Love,  a  friend  of  Sevier's, 
but  then  second  in  command  to  Tipton  in  the  militia  of 
Washington  County.  Tipton  invited  Love  to  join  them, 
and  he  went  along  in  hopes  to  prevent  bloodshed.  The 
party  silently  surrounded  the  house  where  Sevier  was, 
and  about  the  break  of  day  rapped  at  the  door  for  admit- 
tance. The  lady  of  the  house  soon  appeared,  and,  seeing 
Tipton  and  his  armed  i^osse,  she  conjectured  the  object 
of  their  visit,  and,  planting  herself  in  the  doorway,  re- 
fused to  admit  them.  Then  ensued  an  unseemly  strug- 
gle between  the  lady  and  Tipton,  which  caused  an  up- 
roar loud  enough  to  arouse  Sevier,  who  slept  in  a  remote 
part  of  the  dwelling.  Gathering  at  once  that  his  ene- 
mies were  in  pursuit  of  him,  Sevier  hastily  threw  on  his 
clothing,  and  passed  out  of  the  rear  door.  He  soon  en- 
countered Colonel  Love,  and,  taking  him  by  the  hand, 
said,   **I  surrender   to  you."     Love  led  him  to  where 


OVERTHROW  AND  TRIUMPH.  201 

Tipton  was  still  struggling  with  the  lady  of  the  house. 
A  drawn  pistol  was  in  Tipton's  hand,  but  whether  he 
had  threatened  to  use  it  upon  the  lady  is  not  stated.  In 
a  towering  rage  he  now  turned  upon  Sevier  and  threat- 
ened to  shoot  him.  Love  prevented  this,  and  after  a 
time  quieted  the  irascible  gentleman.  Then  Sevier's 
horse  was  brought  up,  and  he  was  led  away  from  the 
house.  Soon  afterward  iron  handcuffs  were  placed  upon 
him,  and  Tipton  left  him  under  guard  of  a  deputy-sher- 
iff and  two  of  the  desperadoes,  with  orders  to  convey 
him  at  once  to  Morganton,  and  lower  down  in  North 
Carolina,  if  it  should  seem  to  be  necessary  to  prevent  a 
rescue. 

Tipton  had  no  sooner  gone  than  Love  persuaded  the 
deputy-sheriff  to  remove  the  handcuffs  from  Sevier,  and 
to  send  to  his  wife  a  message,  which  Sevier  had  written, 
apprising  her  of  his  arrest,  and  requesting  her  to  forward 
to  him  some  money  and  clothing.  Love  remained  with 
the  party  until  these  articles  were  received,  and  then  re- 
turned to  his  home. 

The  sheriff's  party  set  out  at  once  for  Xorth  Carolina, 
and  encamped  that  night  on  the  summit  of  the  Iron 
Mountains.  Here  one  of  the  guards  named  Gorley  in- 
formed Sevier  that  they  were  instructed  to  kill  him,  and 
that  George  French,  the  other  guard,  would  doubtless 
attempt  it  before  they  were  out  of  the  mountains.  Se- 
vier was  unarmed  and  at  their  mercy,  and  he  determined 
to  make  his  escape  at  the  first  possible  moment.  The 
opportunity  presented  itself  on  the  following  morning, 
19 


202  JOHN  SEVIEPw. 

and,  putting  spurs  to  his  horse,  he  broke  away  into  the 
forest.  French  was  better  mounted  than  Sevier,  and  the 
latter's  horse  soon  became  entangled  in  the  branches  of 
a  tree,  which  had  been  thrown  down  by  a  hurricane. 
While  he  was  in  this  position  French  overtook  him,  and, 
drawing  his  pistol,  discharged  it  so  near  to  Sevier's  face 
that  he  was  burned  by  the  powder.  But  the  discharge 
was  harmless  ;  for,  fortunately,  the  bullet  had  fallen  out 
of  the  barrel  in  the  act  of  drawing  the  weapon.  By  this 
time  the  other  guards  had  come  up,  and  the  deputy-sher- 
iff pledged  his  word  that  no  further  assault  should  be 
made  upon  Sevier  if  he  did  not  again  attempt  to  escape. 
Without  further  incident  the  party  arrived  at  Morgan- 
ton,  and  Sevier  was  delivered  into  the  custody  of  William 
Morrison,  the  Sheriff  of  Burke  County. 

That  the  guards  had  instructions  to  murder  Sevier 
was  generally  believed  by  his  friends ;  but  it  should  be 
borne  in  mind  that  the  charge  rested  solely  upon  the 
unsupported  word  of  a  characterless  desperado.  Violent 
and  reckless  as  Tipton  was,  there  are  no  grounds  for 
the  belief  that  he  would  instigate  a  deliberate  murder ; 
therefore  the  order,  if  such  there  were,  must  have  ema- 
nated from  Martin,  whose  smooth  villainy  might  have 
been  equal  to  such  an  atrocity. 

Meanwhile,  tidings  of  the  capture  of  Sevier  became 
noised  abroad  among  the  frontier  people.  Such  excite- 
ment was  never  known  in  Jonesboro  as  when  the  dwell- 
ers there  were  told  in  the  early  morning  that  Nolichucky 
Jack  had  been  kidnapped   overnight,  placed  in  irons, 


OVERTHROW  AND  TRIUMPH.  203 

and  spirited  over  the  mountains,  to  be  tried  for  high 
treason  by  the  State  authorities  of  North  Carolina. 
To  quote  the  somewhat  high-flown  language  of  a  docu- 
ment of  the  period:  *'IIad  the  destroying  angel  passed 
tlirough  the  land,  and  destroyed  the  first-born  in  every 
dwelling,  the  feelings  of  the  hardy  frontiersmen  would 
not  have  been  more  aroused !  Had  the  chiefs  and 
warriors  of  the  whole  Cherokee  nation  fallen  upon  and 
butchered  the  defenseless  settlers,  the  spirit  of  .retali- 
ation and  revenge  would  not  have  been  more  strongly 
awakened  in  their  bosoms  !  They  had  suffered  with  him, 
fought  under  him  ;  with  him  shared  the  dangers  and 
privations  of  a  frontier  life ;  and  they  were  not  the 
spirits  to  remain  inactive  when  their  friend  was  in 
danger." 

Sevier  was  the  idol  of  the  frontier  people.  His  cap- 
tivating manners,  generous  j^ublic  spirit,  great  personal 
bravery,  and  high  soldierly  qualities,  had  won  him  the 
admiration  and  love  of  every  man,  Avoman,  and  child  in 
the  Territory.  For  years,  without  pay  or  reward,  he 
had  stood  sentinel  over  their  homes,  had  guided  them 
through  terrible  dangers,  and  led  them  to  w^onderful 
victories ;  and  now,  when  a  hand  that  should  have  been 
friendly  was  lifted  against  his  life,  every  man  felt  it  as  a 
blow  aimed  at  his  own  person,  an  outrage  that  could  be 
wiped  out  only  in  blood.  So  every  one  thought  and  felt 
as  he  shouldered  his  trusty  rifle  and  hurried  to  the  ren- 
dezvous to  which  all  resorted  in  times  of  danger.  The 
tidings  had  flown  with  the  wind ;  men  came  together  as 


204  JOHN  SEVIER. 

if  by  instinct,  and  before  nightfall  of  the  second  day 
fully  two  thousand  dauntless  backwoodsmen,  armed  to 
the  teeth,  had  gathered  at  Jonesboro,  determined  to 
rescue  their  beloyed  commander,  or  *^  to  leave  their 
bones  to  bleach  on  the  sand-hills  of  North  Carolina." 
For  a  time  it  seemed  as  if  nothing  could  hinder  a  hos- 
tile invasion  of  the  ^^mother-State,"  and  the  blood- 
shed and  lasting  animosity  that  would  inevitably  have 
followed. 

But  wiser  and  more  moderate  counsels  at  last  pre- 
vailed. Among  the  two  thousand  who  assembled  at 
Jonesboro  were  Judge  Campbell,  Generals  Cocke  and 
Kennedy,  Major  Cozby,  Captain  Evans,  the  sons  of 
Sevier,  and  nearly  all  of  his  former  captains.  The 
people  were  accustomed  to  follow  these  men,  and  they 
now  assented  cordially  to  the  suggestion  of  Cozby  that 
the  leading  officers  should  retire  to  some  quiet  spot, 
and  concert  measures  suited  to  the  emergency.  Accord- 
ingly, about  a  hundred  met  in  the  court-house  some 
hours  after  darky  with  closed  door  and  windows.  Camp- 
bell was  the  first  to  speak.  He  advised  moderation,  and 
the  avoiding  of  any  act  that  would  bring  about  a  collision 
with  North  Carolina  ;  but  his  voice  was  soon  drowned  by 
cries  of  "Down  with  North  Carolina!"  "We  want  a 
collision  with  her  !"  "We  have  too  long  submitted  to 
her  tyranny  ! "  and  other  exclamations  of  a  similar  char- 
acter. Amid  this  uproar  Cozby  mounted  upon  one  of 
the  benches  and  waved  his  hand  for  silence.  He  was  a 
man  of  huge  frame,  marked  and  swarthy  features,  and 


OVERTHROW  AND   TRIUMPH.  205 

an  air  of  inflexible  resolution.  He  seldom  spoke,  and 
T\'lien  lie  did  speak  his  sentences  were  short  and  pithy, 
and  his  words  had  something  of  the  ping  that  follows 
the  leap  of  the  rifle-bullet.  Owing  partly  to  the  decided 
friendship  of  Sevier,  and  partly  to  Cozby's  own  character, 
his  opinions  had  much  weight  with  his  fellow-officers. 
He  now  said  that  moderation  and  conciliation  would  be 
wasted  upon  North  Carolina ;  that  she  had  thrown  down 
the  gauntlet,  and  the  western  men  would  take  it  up,  if 
they  had  a  spark  of  manhood  in  them  ;  yet  he  would  not 
advise  a  resort  to  open  force  to  rescue  their  general.  No 
doubt  such  a  course  would  succeed,  but  it  would  bring 
about  a  collision  disastrous  to  both  sides.  Better,  some- 
times, than  open  force  was  secret  stratagem.  Give  him 
the  general's  fast  mare,  and  half  a  dozen  men  of  his  own 
selection,  and  he  would  undertake  to  have  their  leader 
back  within  a  week ;  or,  failing  to  do  it,  he  would 
put  North  Carolina  to  the  expense  of  burying  James 
Cozby. 

**How  will  you  do  it?"  inquired  a  number  of 
voices. 

"I  don't  know  ;  and,  if  I  did  know,  I  wouldn't  tell 
you,"  answered  Cozby ;  '*  but  I  will  do  it,  if  I  have  to 
set  fire  to  Morganton,  and  rake  the  general  out  from  the 
cinders  I " 

"I'll  be  one  of  your  men  !"  now  cried  Captain  Ev- 
ans, and  his  words  were  echoed  in  a  chorus  of  nearly  all 
present.  Cozby  declined  the  volunteered  aid,  remarking 
that  his  men  were  already  chosen  and  his  plan  formed, 


206  JOHN  SEVIER. 

subject  only  to  such  alteration  as  might  be  forced  upon 
him  by  circumstances.  All  he  asked  of  those  present  was 
absolute  secrecy.  This  was  assented  to  by  the  whole  as- 
sembly, and  then  the  meeting  broke  up,  and  the  outside 
gathering  dispersed  to  their  homes,  wondering  much 
what  could  be  the  secret  plan  that  their  captains  had 
adopted  for  the  rescue  of  their  beloyed  leader. 

The  enterprise  was  desperate  in  the  extreme,  and  al- 
together worthy  of  all  that  is  known  of  Cozby ;  but  it  is 
said  not  to  haye  originated  with  him,  but  with  the  heroic 
woman  who  for  thirty-five  years  was  the  honored  wife  of 
John  Seyier.  The  plan  of  it  could  haye  originated  only 
in  a  most  heroic  soul,  altogether  deyoted  to  Seyier,  and 
such  a  soul  had  Catherine  Sherrill.  There  is  a  tradition 
of  her  in  the  family,  which,  as  it  illustrates  her  charac- 
ter, may  be  appropriately  related  in  this  connection.  It 
is  said  that  in  the  first  year  of  her  married  life  she  went 
one  day  with  a  poor  neighbor  to  obtain  for  her  some  pro- 
visions from  the  smoke-house  of  her  husband's  dwell- 
ing on  the  Nolichucky.  Her  hand  was  upon  the  wooden 
latch  of  the  smoke-house  door,  and  she  was  about  to 
open  it,  when  she  was  arrested  by  a  sudden  cry  from  the 
woman  with  her,  who  fell  upon  her  knees,  threw  her 
arms  about  her  feet,  and  burst  into  an  hysterical  fit  of 
weeping.  The  woman  was  the  wife  of  a  wretched  rene- 
gade— a  desperate  Tory  and  horse-thief — named  Dyke, 
who  dared  not  appear  by  daylight  in  the  settlements. 
For  an  entire  year  he  had  neglected  his  wife  and  chil- 
dren, between  whom  and  starvation  nothino^  had  stood 


OVERTHROW  AND  TRIUMPn.  207 

but  the  bounty  of  Sevier,  whose  unstinted  hand  was  ever 
open  to  the  needy  and  unfortunate.  Regularly  during 
all  of  that  time  the  wife  of  Dyke  had  come  to  Catherine 
for  the  daily  food  of  herself  and  her  little  ones,  and 
she  was  there  now  for  her  accustomed  measure  of  meal 
and  flitch  of  bacon. 

With  her  hand  still  upon  the  smoke-house  door, 
Catherine  turned,  and,  bending  her  eyes  in  inquiring 
surprise  upon  the  weeping  woman,  asked,  *^  What  is  the 
matter  ?  "  '^0  madam  ! "  sobbed  the  woman,  still  clasp- 
ing her  feet,  ^^  I  can  not  tell  you,  for  I  love  my  husband, 
lie  has  fallen  into  bad  ways ;  but  he  was  once  very  good 
and  kind  to  me."  Then  her  speech  was  broken  by  an- 
other hysterical  fit  of  weeping.  Catherine  tried  to  soothe 
her,  spoke  to  her  gentle  words  of  hope  and  encourage- 
ment, and  soon  the  woman  found  si^eech  again.  **0 
madam  !"  she  said,  ''you  are  so  good,  so  kind,  how  can 
I  let  any  harm  come  to  you  or  your  husband  ?  "  '*  My 
husband  ! "  cried  Catherine  ;  *'  what  of  my  husband  ? 
What  danger  threatens  him  ?  Speak,  woman  ! "  In  her 
look  and  tone  was  that  which  would  brook  no  denial. 
The  woman  hesitated,  as  if  torn  by  conflicting  emotions  ; 
but  then,  awed  into  speech  by  the  intense  passion  of 
Catherine,  she  told  her  in  broken  sentences  that  her  hus- 
band Dyke  had  returned  to  the  settlement,  and  was  at 
that  moment,  with  half  a  dozen  other  desperadoes,  con- 
cealed in  her  cabin,  where  she  had  overheard  them  plan 
the  murder  of  Sevier,  while  he  slept  that  very  night 
with  unfastened  doors  in  his  unguarded  dwelling. 


208  JOHl^  SEVIER. 

"Within  an  hour  the  rufifians  were  captured,  and  be- 
fore the  sun  arose  upon  another  day  Dyke  had  gone  to 
give  account  for  a  worse  than  wasted  life  to  a  higher 
than  human  tribunal.  With  tears  Catherine  pleaded  for 
his  life,  and  for  her  sake,  and  that  of  the  ruffian's  un- 
haj^py  wife,  Sevier  would  have  saved  him.  But  his  fate 
was  taken  out  of  Sevier's  hands  by  some  of  the  settlers, 
who  broke  at  midnight  into  the  cabin  where  the  ruffian 
was  confined,  and  hanged  him  to  a  near-by  tree.  It  was 
on  the  eve  of  King's  Mountain,  and  the  exasperation 
against  the  Tories  was  at  its  highest.*  That  turning 
battle  of  the  Eevolution  would  not  have  been  fought, 
had  Sevier  fallen  by  the  hands  of  these  ruffians.  So, 
on  what  seem  to  us  trivial  events,  often  hang  conse- 
quences which  are  felt  far  along  the  centuries. 

Thus  was  Sevier's  life  saved  by  the  devotion  of  his 
wife ;  and  now  again  she  came  to  his  aid  when  it  was 
again  endangered.  She  no  sooner  knew  of  his  capture 
than  she  conceived  a  plan  for  his  rescue,  and,  sending  for 
Cozby,  she  besought  him  to  join  two  of  Sevier's  sons  in 
carrying  it  into  execution.  To  this  Cozby  promptly 
assented ;  but,  deeming  a  force  of  three  men  somewhat 
too  weak  to  storm  an  entire  State,  he  chose  three  more — 
Captain  Nathaniel  Evans,  already  mentioned,  and  Jesse 
Greene   and  John  Gibson,   favorite  captains  of  Sevier, 


*  This  account,  written  by  her  father,  the  late  Col.  A.  "W.  Putnam, 
of  Nashville,  was  communicated  to  me  by  Mrs.  JuHa  P.  Perkins,  a  great- 
grand-daughter  of  John  Sevier  and  Catherine  Sherrill. 


OVERTHROW   AND  TRIUMPH.  209 

and  men  of  tried  coolness  and  daring.  When  tlic  Jones- 
boro  meeting  broke  up,  these  six  men  rode  rapidly  off  to 
Sevier's  home  on  the  Nolichucky.  There  they  passed 
tlie  night,  and  early  on  the  following  morning,  with  the 
blessing  and  Godspeed  of  the  *^  Bonnie  Kate,"  they  set 
out  on  their  hazardous  expedition.  Not  many  hours 
later  Colonel  Love  descried  a  party  of  half  a  dozen  finely 
mounted  men,  leading  Sevier's  favorite  mare,  and  climb- 
ing rapidly  the  mountain-path  which  the  prisoner  and 
his  guard  had  taken  on  their  way  to  Morganton.  The 
presence  of  the  led  animal  disclosed  to  Love  the  object 
of  the  expedition  ;  but  he  kept  his  own  counsel,  and  let 
them  ride  on  unmolested. 

In  the  height  of  the  excitement  there  were  threats  of 
hanging  Tipton  ;  and,  had  not  that  gentleman  remained 
for  a  time  in  seclusion,  it  is  probable  that  violence  would 
have  been  done  him.  As  it  was,  he  escaped  summary 
justice  only  in  consequence  of  the  moderate  counsels  of 
the  most  influential  of  Sevier's  friends.  Martin,  who 
had  been  the  prime  mover  in  the  outrage,  was  not  visited 
with  the  same  public  indignation  ;  for,  like  the  mole,  he 
had  burrowed  underground.  However,  he  was  soon  to 
learn  that  men  who  work  in  the  dark,  seeking  their  ends 
by  tortuous  means,  though  they  seem  to  have  eyes,  are, 
like  the  mole,  really  stricken  with  blindness. 

At  Morganton  Sevier  was  met  by  Major  Joseph 
McDowell,  who  had  fought  by  his  side  at  King's  Mount- 
ain, and  by  General  Charles  McDowell,  who,  when  driven 
from  his  home  in  the  Hevolution,  had  found  an  asylum 


210  JOHN  SEVIER. 

with  Sevier  on  the  Nolichucky.  These  gentlemen  showed 
him  every  attention ;  and,  indeed,  he  was  treated  with 
great  consideration  hy  all  in  the  neighborhood,  the 
sheriff  going  so  far  as  to  let  him  visit,  unattended,  a 
brother-in-law  who  resided  some  miles  distant,  on  his 
simple  parole  that  he  would  return  on  the  day  set  for 
his  trial. 

The  court  was  in  session,  and  in  a  few  days  the  trial 
came  on,  amid  such  a  gathering  as  had  never  before  been 
seen  in  North  Carolina.  Far  and  near  the  news  had 
spread,  and  many  thousands  came  together  to  witness 
what  was  regarded  as  by  far  the  most  important  political 
event  that  had  occurred  in  the  State  since  the  proclama- 
tion of  peace  with  Great  Britain.  The  rude  log  court- 
house could  not  contain  the  great  concourse  of  people, 
and  the  court  sat  with  open  doors  and  windows,  much 
the  larger  part  of  the  auditory  being  gathered  outside  in 
the  court-yard. 

The  trial  had  begun  when  Cozby  and  his  companions 
arrived  on  the  outskirts  of  Morganton.  There  they 
halted,  and,  concealing  four  of  the  horses  in  a  clump 
of  bushes,  left  them  there  near  the  roadside,  all  saddled 
and  bridled,  in  charge  of  the  young  Seviers,  and  Cap- 
tains Greene  and  Gibson.  Then  Cozby  and  Evans,  dis- 
guised as  countrymen,  entered  the  town,  riding  tlieir 
horses  and  leading  Sevier's  celebrated  racing  animal. 
Proceeding  as  near  to  the  court-house  as  they  deemed 
prudent,  they  dismounted,  and,  tethering  their  horses  to 
the  limb  of  a  tree,  hid  their  rifles  among  its  branches. 


OVERTHROW  AND  TRIUMPH.  211 

Then  they  mingled  with  the  crowd,  their  capacious 
hunting-shirts  concealing  the  small  arsenal  of  side-arms 
which  they  had  provided  for  use  in  an  emergency.  Their 
plan  was  to  effect  the  rescue  by  strategem  ;  but,  that  fail- 
ing, to  fire  the  town,  and,  in  the  consequent  hurry  and 
alarm,  to  burst  the  doors  where  Sevier  was  confined,  and 
bear  him  off  in  the  confusion. 

Loitering  along  on  foot,  they  now  approached  the 
door  of  the  court-house,  Evans  still  leading  the  mare, 
which  had  been  negligently  curried,  to  resemble  more 
nearly  the  horse  of  a  countryman.  Arrived  at  the  court- 
house, Evans  threw  the  reins  loosely  over  the  neck  of  the 
animal,  and  stood  with  her  directly  before  the  open  door, 
and  in  plain  view  from  the  interior  of  the  building.  He 
gazed  leisurely  around,  as  if  an  idle  spectator  of  events, 
while  Cozby  entered  the  court-room,  and,  elbowing  his 
way  up  the  crowded  aisle,  halted  directly  before  the 
judge's  bench,  and  only  a  few  feet  from  where  his  be- 
loved leader  sat,  surrounded  by  the  court  officials,  but  as 
"cool  and  undaunted  as  when  charging  the  hosts  of 
Wyuca  on  the  Lookout  Mountain."  Soon  Cozby  caught 
Sevier's  eye,  and,  by  a  significant  gesture,  directed  his 
attention  to  his  favorite  horse,  which  stood  impatiently 
pawing  the  ground  at  the  doorway.  With  one  glance 
Sevier  took  in  the  situation.  A  tear,  it  is  said,  moist- 
ened his  cheek,  for  he  saw  that  daring  spirits  were  at  hand, 
who  had  periled  their  lives  for  his  rescue.  Seeing  that 
he  was  understood,  Cozby  now  pressed  still  nearer  to  the 
bench,  and  in  the  quick,  energetic  tone  which  was  pecul- 


212  JOHN  SEVIER. 

iar  to  him,  said  to  the  judge,  '*  Aren't  you  about  done 
with  that  man  ?" 

The  question,  and  the  tone  and  manner  of  the  speak- 
er, drew  all  eyes  upon  him  in  amazement.  For  a  few 
moments — as  Cozby  had  intended — all  was  confusion. 
Taking  instant  advantage  of  this,  Sevier  sprang  from 
among  the  officers,  and,  the  crowd  parting  instinctively 
to  the  right  and  left,  with  a  few  bounds  he  was  upon  the 
back  of  his  horse,  and  speeding  away  on  the  only  road 
toward  the  mountains.  Judge,  lawyers,  and  spectators 
now  rushed  from  the  court-room,  and  in  the  confusion 
Cozby  and  Evans  regained  their  horses  and  followed 
their  leader.  The  outside  crowd  was  composed  mainly 
of  a  mass  of  ^'  white  trash,"  who  have  come  into  the 
world  for  some  as  yet  unascertained  reason.  They  are 
the  most  stupid  of  created  things,  but  they  can  appreci- 
ate a  horse-race  ;  and  now  they  sent  up  shout  after  shout 
as  Sevier  sped  away,  followed  by  the  sheriff's  officers. 
The  latter  rode  as  if  the  fate  of  North  Carolina  hung 
upon  the  capture  of  the  fugitive,  but  they  could  not  out- 
strip the  wind  ;  the  mare  did  that,  and  in  a  few  moments 
she  had  Sevier  at  the  rendezvous,  where,  with  one  wild 
shout,  his  rescuers  closed  in  behind  him  and  bore  him 
off  in  safety.  In  two  hours  he  was  twenty  miles  away, 
at  the  house  of  a  friend,  in  the  seclusion  of  the  Alle- 
ghanies.* 

*  This  account  of  Sevier's  rescue  is  taken  from  the  narrative  of 
William  Smith,  in  the  "Annals  of  Tennessee,"  supplemented  by  personal 
conversations  with  Dr.  J.  G.  M.  Ramsey. 


OVERTEROW  AND   TRIUMPH.  213 

Among  the  crowd  wlio  witnessed  the  rescue,  cheering 
they  knew  not  why,  was,  it  is  said,  *^a  tall,  lank,  uncouth- 
looking  young  man,  with  long  locks  of  hair  hanging  over 
his  face,  and  a  cue  down  his  back,  tied  in  an  eel-skin." 
''His  dress  was  singular,  and  his  manners  and  deport- 
ment those  of  a  rough  backwoodsman."  *  His  name  was 
Andrew  Jackson  ;  and  he  was  then  on  his  way  to  estab- 
lish himself  as  an  attorney  in  Eobertson's  colony,  on  the 
Cumberland. 

Here  I  may  as  well  anticipate  events  to  record  the 
tragic  fate  that  befell  Judge  Spencer,  who  had  issued 
the  warrant  for  Sevier's  arrest.  Returning  to  North 
Carolina,  he  was  seized  with  a  severe  illness,  and,  when 
only  partly  recovered  from  it,  he  one  day  ventured  to 
take  a  seat  in  the  open  air  of  the  court-yard  in  front 
of  his  dwelling.  Attired  from  head  to  foot  in  red 
flannel,  he  was  enjoying  the  morning  breeze,  when  he 
was  suddenly  approached  by  a  deadly  enemy,  who,  un- 
mindful of  his  weak  condition,  and  without  one  word  of 
warning,  set  upon  him  furiously.  The  judge  defended 
himself  as  well  as  he  could,  and  uttered  loud  cries  for 
help  ;  but  no  help  came,  and  soon  he  fell  prostrate  to  the 
ground,  lifeless.  Thus  ingloriously  perished  this  jurist 
— done  to  death  by  the  beak  and  talons  of  a  ''turkey- 
gobbler."  Scientists  attributed  the  disaster  to  the  red 
flannel  which  he  wore,  and  to  the  shock  resulting  from 
the   sudden   assault ;    but    the   common    people   always 


*  Albert  Gallatin. 
20 


214  JOHX.  SEVIER. 

maintained  that  it  was  owing  to  his  having  consented  to 
the  arrest  of  John  Sevier.* 

Never  was  such  rejoicing  known  beyond  the  Alle- 
ghanies  as  when  news  arrived  that  Nolichucky  Jack  had 
been  rescued  from  the  clutches  of  his  enemies.  As  the 
tidings  flew  from  hamlet  to  hamlet,  the  whole  Territory 
broke  into  a  blaze  of  bonfires  and  illuminations,  and  soon 
the  entire  country  came  together — men,  women,  and 
children — to  Sevier's  home,  on  the  IS'olichucky.  The 
whole  district  took  a  long  holiday,  and  it  seemed  as  if 
the  people  would  never  give  over  their  rejoicing.  While 
he  was  in  peril,  they  had  thought  of  Sevier's  vast  services 
to  them,  of  his  recent  heroic  defense  of  the  French 
Broad  settlers ;  and  his  danger  had  endeared  him  to 
them  the  more  strongly.  The  malice  of  his  enemies  had 
only  deepened  the  attachment  of  his  friends.  His  name 
now  acquired  a  sort  of  electrical  force  which  prostrated 
all  opposition ;  and  henceforth  for  twenty-seven  years, 
whether  in  office  or  out  of  office,  he  held  undisputed 
sway  over  the  backwoods.  He  was  still  a  branded  and 
outlawed  man  ;  but,  in  the  teeth  of  this  proscription,  the 
people  of  Greene  County,  at  their  first  election,  chose 
him  as  their  State  senator ;  and  from  that  time  forth 
honor  after  honor  was  heaped  upon  him  by  the  whole 
backwoods  people.  They  falsified  the  common  adage 
that  *^ republics  are  ungrateful." 

Sevier  was  still  under  indictment,  and  liable  to  in- 

*  Communicated  by  Hon.  W.  A.  Henderson,  of  Knoxville. 


OVERTHROW  A\D  TRIUMPH.  215 

stant  arrest  and  trial  for  Ligli  treason ;  but  at  the  first 
session  of  the  Legislature,  in  November,  1789,  he  repaired 
to  Fayetteville  to  demand  the  seat  to  which  lie  had  been 
elected.  It  could  not  be  accorded  to  liim  until  his  dis- 
qualifications had  been  removed,  and  at  once  one  of  his 
friends,  Mr.  Amy,  the  senator  from  Hawkins  County, 
introduced  a  resolution  withdrawing  the  charge  of  al- 
leged treason,  and  restoring  him  to  the  rights  of  citizen- 
ship. The  resolution  was  opposed  by  Tipton,  who  was 
still  a  member  of  the  Senate,  and  it  was  warmly  advo- 
cated by  Mr.  Amy — so  warmly  that  Tipton  took  strong 
offense  at  his  words,  and  became  so  much  infuriated  that 
a  hostile  collision  was  with  difficulty  jn-evented.  The 
debate  was  consequently  adjourned  to  the  ensuing  day, 
and  the  evening  was  passed  in  reconciling  the  two  gen- 
tlemen. 

Colonel  Eoddy,  of  Greene  County,  censured  Amy  for 
exasperating  Tipton,  and  begged  him,  in  continuing  the 
debate,  to  use  language  that  would  '^ soothe  his  feelings." 
Amy  probably  declined  to  pick  his  words,  for  it  was 
finally  agreed  that  Eoddy  should  continue  the  discussion 
on  the  following  day.  Accordingly^  Eoddy  resumed  the 
debate,  but  he  had  not  proceeded  far  in  his  speech  before 
Tipton  became  again  so  much  infuriated  that  he  sprang 
from  his  seat,  and,  rushing  upon  Eoddy,  seized  him  by 
the  throat,  while  Amy  cried  out  to  Eoddy,  '*  Soothe 
him,  colonel — soothe  him  ! ''  The  echo  of  the  llouse  was, 
"  Smooth  him  !  smooth  him  !"  which  indicated  the  sym- 
pathies of  the  members.     A  challenge  to  a  duel  resulted. 


216  JOHN  SEVIER. 

but  friends  interfered,  and  the  matter  was  settled  ami- 
cably. 

Eobertson  was  a  '' silent  member,"  with  so  little  con- 
fidence in  his  oratorical  ability  that  on  all  occasions  he 
addressed  the  Senate  in  written  memorials ;  but  now  it 
is  said  that  the  confusion  had  no  sooner  subsided  than 
he  rose  to  his  feet,  and  in  a  strain  of  impassioned  elo- 
quence depicted  the  great  services  of  Sevier,  and  his 
amazing  sacrifices  for  the  State  and  the  western  country. 
The  legislators  had  done  a  great  wrong  in  inflicting 
upon  him  outlawry.  By  doing  so  they  had  disgraced 
the  State  and  themselves,  and  if  they  had  a  vestige 
of  self-respect  they  would  make  haste  to  blot  out  the 
record  of  their  misdoing.  As  for  John  Sevier,  he  was 
not  to  be  judged  by  men  who  brought  bar-room  man- 
ners into  the  hall  of  the  Senate,  and  disgraced  it  by 
brawls  unseemly  even  in  a  tavern.  Upon  such  men  he 
should  waste  no  words,  but  to  the  other  gentlemen  he 
would  say  that,  if  they  had  a  proper  regard  for  their 
own  characters,  they  would  at  once  repeal  tlie  act 
which  outlawed  John  Sevier,  and  restore  him  to  the 
citizenship  his  whole  life  had  so  highly  honored.  The 
motion  being  put  by  the  Speaker,  the  resolution  was 
passed  unanimously  —  Tipton  not  voting.*  At  once 
Sevier  took  his  seat,  amid  the  universal  congratulations 
of  the  members. 

To  this  same  Legislature  Martin  presented  a  claim  for 

*  From  conversations  with  Dr.  J.  G.  M.  Ramsey. 


OVERTHROW   AND  TRIUMPH.  217 

compensation  for  the  officers  and  men  who  had  been 
engaged  in  the  recent  abortive  Chickamauga  expedi- 
tion. The  chiini  was  a  novel  one,  for  during  eighteen 
years  the  over-mountain  settlers  had  defended  them- 
selves at  their  own  cost  and  charges.  It  met  strong 
opposition ;  but  was  at  last  passed,  with  the  proviso 
that  the  money  should  be  raised  from  taxes  levied 
upon  Washington  District.  Thus  were  the  settlers  made 
to  pay  their  own  war  expenses — not  directly  and  volun- 
tarily, as  under  Sevier,  but  indirectly  and  by  enforced 
taxation. 

The  claim  had  one  good  result :  it  disgusted  the  legis- 
lators with  Joseph  Martin,  whom  they  at  once  removed 
from  his  position  as  brigadier-general  of  the  western  mili- 
tia. AVhat  became  of  him  I  do  not  know,  but  from  this 
date  he  disappears  from  border  history.  Having  done  this 
act  of  retributive  justice,  the  same  Legislature  proceeded 
at  once  to  commission  Sevier  as  brigadier-general,  and 
to  place  him  in  supreme  military  command  be3'ond  the 
mountains.  A  sudden  change  of  fortune  truly  :  one  day 
a  branded  outlaw,  in  peril  of  his  life  ;  the  next,  in  su- 
preme command,  and  elevated  to  it  by  his  very  enemies  ! 
Henceforth,  honors  crowded  thickly  upon  Sevier.  Soon  a 
convention  of  the  peoj^le  ratified  the  new  Federal  Consti- 
tution, and  North  Carolina  became  once  more  a  member 
of  the  Union.  She  was  entitled  to  four  representatives 
in  Congress,  one  of  whom  was  apportioned  by  the  Gen- 
eral Assembly  to  the  counties  beyond  tlie  AUeghanies. 
The  election  occurred  in  the  ensuing  March,  and  Sevier 


218  JOHN  SEVIER. 

was  put  in  nomination  without  a  competitor,  as  no  one 
would  run  against  him.  He  was  unanimously  elected, 
and  in  the  following  June  took  his  seat  in  Congress, 
the  first  representative  from  the  great  yalley  of  the  Mis- 
sissippi. 


CHAPTER  X. 

TERRITORIAL   GOVERXMEXT. 

The  state  of  Franklin  went  out  of  existence  with  the 
expiration  of  Sevier's  term  of  office,  on  March  1,  1788 ; 
and  this  event  left  the  settlers  south  of  the  French  Broad 
and  Ilolston  in  an  anomalous  and  dangerous  position. 
They  had  been  an  organized  county  under  .Franklin ; 
but,  though  Xorth  Carolina  had  issued  grants  to  the  set- 
tlers for  their  lands,  she  now  refused  to  exercise  jurisdic- 
tion over  them,  or  to  in  any  way  recognize  their  exist- 
ence. The  United  States  also  gave  them  no  sort  of 
recognition  ;  or,  rather,  Congress  did  by  the  treaty  of 
Hopewell  admit  that  they  were  intruders  upon  Cherokee 
territory,  and,  in  express  terms,  hand  them  over  to  the 
tender  mercy  of  the  savages.  Therefore,  these  people, 
numbering  as  they  did  about  one  eighth  of  the  whole 
Watauga  population,  were  now  existing  without  either 
law  or  protection.  We  have  seen  how  the  savages  moved 
against  them  as  soon  as  Sevier  had  relinquished  com- 
mand of  the  Franklin  militia ;  and  how,  acting  only  as  a 
private  citizen,  he  then  saved  them  from  destruction. 


220  JOHN  SEVIER. 

That  peril  was  no  sooner  passed  than  they  were  exposed 
to  as  great  a  danger  ;  and  from  that,  too,  they  were  to  be 
rescued  by  their  beloyed  leader. 

The  war  with  the  Cherokees  ended  in  October,  1788, 
and  at  once  there  began  to  swarm  into  the  French  Broad 
settlements  yery  many  disorderly  characters,  who  had 
been  driven  out  from  the  older  districts.  They  herded 
generally  in  the  forest,  but  they  prowled  around  the  sta- 
tions, committing  theft  and  sometimes  murder,  and  be- 
fore the  close  of  the  year  had  become  so  numerous  that 
there  was  little  security  for  life  or  property  in  the  dis- 
trict. In  this  emergency  the  settlers  applied  again  to 
Sevier  for  assistance.  He  was  now  an  officer  of  North 
Carolina,  and  consequently  could  afford  them  no  personal 
aid ;  but  he  did  what  was  quite  as  effectual  by  showing 
them  how  to  protect  themselves.  As  once  before  he  had 
done  for  the  Watauga  settlers,  so  now  for  these  exposed 
borderers  Sevier  framed  a  form  of  civil  government,  by 
which  they  might  become  an  independent  community — 
a  little  republic,  on  the  confines  of  a  larger  one,  and 
wedged  in  between  it  and  two  hostile  Indian  nations. 
These  ^* Articles  of  Association"  cover  less  than  two  oc- 
tavo pages,  but  they  contain  everything  that  was  neces- 
sary for  the  efficient  civil  and  military  government  of  the 
outlawed  settlements.  Of  themselves  they  are  sufficient 
evidence  of  the  remarkable  ability  of  Sevier  as  a  civil 
organizer.  They  were  signed  by  all  the  settlers,  who  for 
that  purpose  met  together  at  the  house  of  Isaac  Thomas, 
of   whom  I  have   had   occasion  to  make  mention  in  a 


TERRITORIAL  GOVERNMIENT.  221 

lirevious  volume.  The  bravo  scout  had  named  the  little 
collection  of  log-cabins,  which  had  clustered  about  his 
own,  Sevierville  ;  and  the  place  is  now  one  of  the  most 
beautiful  villages  in  all  that  picturesque  country.  The 
government  then  organized  was  sufficient  to  rescue  the 
district  from  anarchy  and  violence  ;  and  under  it  law, 
order,  and  a  proper  administration  of  justice  were  main- 
tained until  1794,  when  the  United  States  erected  the 
district  into  a  county,  and  gave  it  the  name  of  Sevier,  in 
honor  of  its  deliverer  and  organizer. 

The  authority  of  North  Carolina  was  now  acknowl- 
edged throughout  the  western  counties  ;  but  the  western 
people  had  by  no  means  returned  to  a  hearty  allegiance 
to  the  older  government.  They  still  felt  their  former 
antipathy  to  the  ^* Tar-heel  Commonwealth"  and  its 
"sand-hill"  majority;  and  they  regarded  with  mingled 
distrust  and  aversion  the  legislators  whose  unwise  acts 
had  introduced  such  disorder  among  them,  and  sub- 
jected them  to  so  much  hazard.  With  the  French  Broad 
settlers  they  heartily  sympathized,  and  they  considered 
their  treatment  by  North  Carolina  as  not  only  unjust 
but  a  political  blunder ;  and  in  the  same  category  they 
classed  the  act  by  which  the  Legislature  decreed  that  the 
soldiers  of  Martin's  abortive  Chickamauga  expedition 
should  be  paid  in  certificates  redeemable  only  in  payment 
for  taxes  in  Washington  District.  Such  parsimony  was 
regarded  as  contemptible  ;  but  it  was  seen  to  be  danger- 
ous when  the  Legislature,  from  avowed  economy,  re- 
pealed the  act  for  the  support  of  the  garrison  which  Se- 


222  JOHN  SEYIER. 

vier  had  placed  at  the  mouth  of  Elk  Eiver  to  protect 
Eobertson  from  the  murderous  raids  of  the  Creeks  and 
Ohickamaugas.  Next  to  Sevier,  Eobertson  was  more  be- 
loved than  any  man  on  the  border,  and,  though  it  was 
many  years  since  they  had  seen  his  face,  this  exposure  of 
him  to  renewed  attack,  in  order  to  save  a  few  paltry  dol- 
lars, excited  among  the  Watauga  settlers  intense  and  uni- 
versal indignation.  Moved  by  these  motives,  the  western 
people  again  clamored  for  separation  from  North -Caro- 
lina, and  prayed  that,  if  they  could  not  be  allowed  to 
form  themselves  into  a  sejDarate  State,  they  might  be 
taken  under  the  wing  of  the  General  Government,  which 
now  was  a  body  having  force  and  vitality,  with  Washing- 
ton himself  as  its  executive. 

At  the  same  time  that  these  sentiments  were  enter- 
tained beyond  the  mountains,  the  North  Carolina  Legis- 
lature awoke  to  the  fact  that  the  western  counties  were 
an  inconvenient,  expensive,  and  troublesome  appendage, 
and  that  it  was  for  the  interest  of  both  sections  that  the 
two  should  be  no  longer  united.  Accordingly,  the  As- 
sembly proceeded  to  mature  a  plan  for  a  peaceable  sepa- 
ration, and  soon  passed  an  act,  in  ]OTirsuance  of  which, 
on  the  25th  of  February,  1790,  North  Carolina  ceded  to 
the  United  States  all  her  territory  west  of  the  Allegha- 
nies.  On  the  2d  of  April  of  the  same  year.  Congress 
accepted  the  cession ;  and,  on  the  7th  of  August  follow- 
ing, it  enacted  an  ordinance  erecting  the  ceded  district 
into  the  **  Territory  southwest  of  the  Eiver  Ohio,"  and 
making  provision  for  its  government. 


TERRITORIAL  GOVERNMEXT.  223 

On  the  same  day  AVasliington  nominated  as  Governor 
of  tlie  new  Territory,  William  Blount,  one  of  the  few 
men  of  any  talent  whom  North  Carolina  contributed  to 
the  Revolution.  He  had  been  a  member  of  the  N'orth 
Carolina  Senate  and  of  Congress,  a  deputy  from  North 
Carolina  to  the  convention  which  framed  the  Constitu- 
tion, and  he  had  commended  himself  to  the  western  peo- 
ple by  a  strenuous  o])position  to  the  treaty  of  Hopewell. 
He  was  of  an  English  family  of  some  rank  and  wealth, 
which  at  an  early  day  had  settled  in  the  country,  and 
was  also  a  gentleman  of  good  address,  courtly  manners, 
kindly  feeling,  and  commanding  presence.  With  some 
weaknesses,  he  was  a  man  of  worth  and  ability.  His  re- 
lations with  Washington  were  very  friendly,  and  doubt- 
less to  this  fact  his  appointment  is  to  be  attributed. 
With  Blount  were  associated,  as  Territorial  judges,  David 
Campbell  and  Joseph  Anderson,  the  first  of  whom  had 
been  on  the  bench  of  the  Superior  Court  of  both  Frank- 
lin and  North  Carolina.  To  John  Sevier  Washington 
gave  the  rank  of  brigadier-general  in  the  United  States 
army,  with  command  of  the  militia  of  Washington  Dis- 
trict ;  and  he  gave  a  like  rank,  and  the  command  of  the 
Cumberland  militia,  to  James  Eobertson. 

Thus  was  the  government  of  the  new  Territory  or- 
ganized ;  these  five  men  being  supreme,  each  in  his  own 
department,  and  the  five  embodying  in  themselves  all 
legislative,  civil,  and  military  powers.  But  it  was  pro- 
vided in  the  ordinance  that,  whenever  there  were  five 
thousand  free  adult  males  resident  in  the  Territory,  there 


224  JOHN  SEVIER. 

should  be  added  to  them  a  Legislative  Council  and  a 
House  of  Representatives,  to  originate  and  enact  laws. 
And  it  was  also  provided  that,  whenever  by  actual  cen- 
sus the  total  population  should  number  sixty  thousand 
free  whites,  the  Territory  should  be  admitted  as  an 
independent  State  into  the  Union. 

A  peal  of  rejoicing  was  heard  everywhere  upon  the 
'^western  waters''  when  this  action  of  Congress  was  an- 
nounced in  the  Territory ;  and  the  general  joy  was  in- 
creased when,  early  in  October,  the  new  Governor  arrived 
upon  the  Watauga,  and  it  became  generally  known  that 
all  the  civil  and  military  officials  of  the  late  State  of 
Franklin  were  to  be  retained  in  their  positions.  People 
saw  in  this  the  hand  of  John  Sevier,  and  they  recognized 
the  fact  that  he  was  to  be  again  the  "power  behind  the 
throne,"  as  he  had  been  before,  while  Robertson  was 
nominally  the  '^head-man"  at  Watauga. 

Only  ten  days  subsequent  to  this  came  tidings  that 
President  Washington  had  concluded  a  treaty  at  New 
York  with  McGillivray  and  twenty-eight  of  the  princi- 
pal chiefs  of  the  Creek  nation,  by  which  the  machina- 
tions of  Spain  would  be  at  last  thwarted,  and  the  war- 
cloud  dispelled  which  had  so  long  hung  ominously  over 
the  entire  border.  It  only  remained  to  obtain  from  the 
Cherokees  a  cession  of  the  lands  occupied  by  the  settlers 
south  of  the  French  Broad  and  Holston,  to  secure  perma- 
nent peace  and  prosperity  to  the  western  country ;  and 
soon  it  was  announced  that  the  Governor  had  dispatched 
a  messenger  to  Echota,  inviting  the  Cherokees  to  meet 


TERRITORIAL  GOVERNMENT.  225 

him  at  a  conference,  and  that  they  had  agreed  to  como 
for  a  •'  talk"  to  White's  Fort,  on  the  Ilolston,  in  the  fol- 
lowing May. 

In  these  various  events  the  people  saw  an  augnry  of 
peaceful  times,  in  which,  no  longer  hampered  by  North 
Carolina,  they  might  speedily  attain  to  such  a  growth  in 
numbers  and  wealth  as  would  entitle  them  to  rank  as  a 
State  on  eqiuil  terms  with  the  older  members  of  the 
Union.  And  this  auspicious  future  they  attributed  to 
John  Sevier,  though  it  is  evident  that  in  some  of  these 
events  he  had  no  hand  whatever.  His  popularity  rose  to 
an  astonishing  degree — higher,  if  possible,  than  when  his 
life  was  endangered  by  the  animosity  of  North  Carolina  ; 
and,  had  Blount  attempted  to  conduct  his  administration 
without  him,  which  he  did  not,  the  attempt  would 
doubtless  have  been  a  failure.  The  joopular  feeling  is 
illustrated  by  a  trifling  incident  which  is  said  to  have  oc- 
curred to  Blount  himself  on  his  first  entrance  into  the 
Territory.  It  is  related  that,  riding  with  a  small  escort 
into  the  town  of  Jonesboro,  he  dismounted  at  the  one 
log -tavern,  and  applied  to  the  landlord  for  his  best 
rooms,  saying  that  he  was  the  new  Governor.  The  boni- 
face,  it  is  said,  eyed  him  leisurely  from  head  to  foot — 
from  cocked  hat  and  "store-clothes"  to  high-top  boots — 
and  then  coolly  remarked:  *^You  can  have  my  best 
rooms,  sir,  if  you've  the  money  to  pay  for  them  ;  but,  as 
for  your  being  the  Governor,  it  ain't  so  !  We've  got  a 
Governor  already,  and  his  name  is  Jolm  Sevier ;  and  let 

me  caution  you,  sir,  that  it  won't  be  healthy  to  go  'round 
21 


226  JOHN  SEVIER. 

here  usurpin'  his  office.  We've  heard  the  United  States 
has  put  some  ruffle-shirted  fellow  over  us ;  but  we  don't 
care  a  d — n  for  the  United  States  !  We've  got  a  Gov- 
ernor now,  just  as  good  a  one  as  we  want ;  and  I  tell 
you,  sir,  his  name  is  John  Sevier." 

Whether  the  story  be  true  or  not,  the  Governor  had 
the  good  sense  to  act  upon  its  moral.  Had  he  done 
otherwise,  he  would  have  found  it  impossible  to  restrain 
the  people,  under  the  strong  provocations  they  soon  re- 
ceived from  the  Spaniards  and  the  Indians. 

The  conference  with  the  Cherokees  did  not  occur  in 
the  following  May,  owing  to  the  fact  that  the  Indians 
were  fearful  to  come  unarmed  to  the  treaty-ground  as 
was  the  custom.  The  recent  ill-advised  slaughter  of  Old 
Tassel  had  made  them  suspicious  of  treachery,  and  many 
of  the  chieftains  of  the  interior  towns  refused  to  trust 
themselves  in  the  power  of  the  whites.  To  allay  their 
apprehensions,  Eobertson,  in  whom  all  the  tribes  had  the 
utmost  confidence,  was  sent  among  them,  and  he  suc- 
ceeded in  inducing  the  attendance  of  the  principal  chiefs 
and  warriors  at  White's  Fort,  in  the  latter  part  of  June, 
1791.  White's  Fort  was  then  on  the  extreme  frontier, 
and  as  it  afterward  rose  to  prominence  as  the  future 
Knoxville,  and  became  for  many  years  the  seat  of  both 
the  Territorial  and  State  governments,  it  requires  a  few 
words  of  description. 

The  place  was  first  visited  by  white  men  in  the  sum- 
mer of  1787.  Then  a  couple  of  Revolutionary  soldiers, 
named  James  White  and  James  Conner,  from  Iredell 


TERRITORIAL  GOVERNMENT.  227 

County,  North  Carolina,  came  upon  it  one  day  as  they 
were  exploring  for  a  spot  on  which  to  locate  the  land- 
warrants  they  had  received  from  the  State  in  return  for 
their  services  in  the  war.     They  had  reached  a  point  on 
the  northern  bank  of  the  Ilolston,  about  four  miles  be- 
low the  mouth  of  the  French  Broad,  when  their  steps 
were  arrested  by  the  beauty  of  the  scene  which  was  every- 
where spread  around  them.     They  were  at  the  summit 
of  a  low  ridge  that  sloped  abruptly  down  to  the  river, 
which  here  flowed  in  a  turbid  stream,  a  hundred  and 
fifty  yards  in  width,  but  broken  by  a  small  island,  clad 
in  green,  and  covered  with  giant  oaks  and  poplars,  tow- 
ering a  hundred  feet  and  more  into  the  air.     On  the 
river's  opposite  bank  was  a  range  of  lofty  hills,  that  rose 
in  grassy  slopes  from  the  water's  edge,  but  soon  broke 
into  perpendicular  cliffs  whose  summits  bore  the  forest 
growth  of  many  centuries.      Everywhere  was  seen  this 
primitive  forest,  interspersed   with  a  dense  foliage   of 
laurel  and  rhododendron,  which  loaded  with  perfume  all 
the  atmosphere.     No  sound  broke  the  primeval  stillness 
save  the  voice  of  the  birds  that  were  singing  their  morn- 
ing hymn  among  the  trees,  and  the  low  murmur  of  a 
little  streamlet  which,  fed  by  numerous  springs,  poured 
its  clear  waters  into  the  turbid  river  through  a  deep  ra- 
vine not  a  hundred  yards  away.     The  dense  growth  of 
deciduous  trees  indicated  a  deep,  rich  soil,  and  the  many 
springs  that  bubbled  up  along  the  margin  of  the  narrow 
stream  would  furnish  an  inexhaustible  supply  of  pure 
water  for  a  settlement.     These  features  marked  the  spot 


228  JOHN  SEVIER. 

as  an  ai^propriate  site  for  the  home  of  which  these  men 
were  in  quest ;  and,  moreover,  the  summit  on  which  they 
stood  was  Nature's  own  location  for  a  fort,  and  without 
a  fort  no  frontier  hamlet  could  then  be  safe  from  the 
murderous  attacks  of  the  Indians. 

The  location  decided  upon,  these  men  set  about  the 
erection  of  the  log  fortress  which  was  to  protect  their 
intended  settlement.  It  covered  a  triangular  piece  of 
ground  of  about  half  an  acre.  At  each  corner  was  built  a 
cabin  of  hewn  logs  a  foot  or  more  square,  the  ends  mor- 
tised, and  the  logs  fitted  closely  one  upon  the  other,  so 
as  to  form  a  wall  impenetrable  to  rifle-bullets.  Two  of 
these  cabins  were  of  two  stories,  the  upper  story  project- 
ing about  two  feet  beyond  the  lower,  and  pierced  with 
port-boles,  from  which  the  settler  could  see  and  repel  an 
enemy  should  he  scale  the  stockade,  or  approach  near 
enough  to  fire  the  buildings.  The  stockade  filled  the 
intervening  spaces  between  the  cabins,  and  was  of  timber 
a  foot  square  and  eight  feet  long,  imbedded  firmly  in  the 
ground,  the  upper  ends  sharpened,  and  the  whole  set  so 
closely  together  as  to  be  impervious  to  small-arms.  A 
wide  gate,  hung  on  stout  wooden  hinges,  and  secured  by 
heavy  hickory  bars,  opened  toward  the  little  stream,  and 
from  it  a  path  led  down  to  one  of  the  many  springs  along 
its  border.  Though  of  rude  construction,  and  not  very 
imposing  in  appearance,  the  fort  was  altogether  impreg- 
nable to  any  attack  from  such  desultory  warriors  as  the 
Indians,  unless  they  should  come  upon  it  in  overpower- 
ing numbers,  or  by  a  regular  siege  starve  out  the  garri- 


TERRITORIAL  GOVERNMENT.  990 

son.  It  was  on  the  model  of  the  one  built  fifteen  years 
before  by  John  Sevier,  at  Watauga ;  which  original  for- 
tress was  the  prototype  of  a  thousand  others  subsequently 
erected  beyond  the  Alleghanies. 

Having  built  the  fort,  the  two  veterans  set  to  work 
felling  the  trees  about  the  barrack  and  clearing  the 
ground  of  stumps,  to  prevent  their  becoming  hiding- 
places  for  savage  assailants ;  and  then  they  planted  the 
cleared  land  in  corn,  and  went  away  for  their  families. 
They  returned  with  them  the  same  year,  and  with  the 
family  of  another  Revolutionary  soldier  took  up  their 
abode  in  the  fort ;  and  thus  was  formed  the  nucleus  of 
the  first  capital  of  the  great  State  of  Tennessee. 

The  growth  of  a  backwoods  town  at  this  period  was 
not  what  it  is  now,  when  steam  and  electricity  have  an- 
nihilated distance,  and  the  iron  road  bears  to  the  remot- 
est border  all  the  appliances  of  a  high  civilization.  Life 
on  the  frontier  was  then  totally  destitute  of  the  luxuries, 
and  but  scantily  furnished  with  the  comforts,  which  are 
now  considered  essential  to  cultivated  existence.  For 
years  the  houses  were  of  rough  logs,  with  puncheon 
floors  and  unglazed  windows  ;  and  the  settler's  fare  was 
of  as  primitive  a  description.  Pounded  corn  was  his 
only  bread,  his  only  meat  the  game  brought  down  by  his 
rifle.  He  planted  flax,  and  this  his  wife  spun  and  wove 
into  garments  for  herself  and  her  children  ;  but  his  own 
clothing  was  seldom  other  than  the  deer-skin  leggins  and 
hunting-shirt  of  the  aborigines.  This  was  the  way  of  life 
of  the  first  settlers  of  Knoxville. 


230  JOHN  SEVIER. 

But  they  did  not  long  remain  there  alone.  Soon 
other  families  gathered  into  the  fort,  and  then  others 
clustered  around  its  walls,  but  near  enough  to  find  it  a 
refuge  in  case  of  an  attack  from  the  Indians.  Among 
the  first-comers  were  James  King,  Hugh  Dunlap,  Sam- 
uel and  Nathaniel  Cowan,  Joseph  Greer,  John  Chisholm, 
John  and  Arthur  Crozier,  Charles  McClung,  and  Fran- 
cis A.  Eamsey,  many  of  which  names  are  now,  at  the 
distance  of  a  century,  borne  by  the  most  prominent  citi- 
zens of  the  present  city  of  more  than  twenty  thousand 
inhabitants.  The  surrounding  country  also  soon  came 
to  be  settled  by  a  thriying  farming  population,  among 
whom  were  such  men  as  James  Cozby,  the  heroic  rescuer 
of  Sevier,  and  John  Adair,  lately  the  patriotic  entry- 
taker  of  the  Watauga  District ;  and  they  helped  to 
make  White's  Fort  an  important  trading  and  agricul- 
tural center.  This  was  its  condition  when  it  was  chosen 
as  the  ground  upon  which  to  hold  the  treaty  with  the 
Cherokees ;  and  this  event  decided  its  future,  for  it 
brought  it  to  the  notice  of  the  Government  officials,  and 
led  them  to  select  it  as  the  capital  of  the  new  Territory. 

The  treaty  was  held  at  the  foot  of  what  is  now  Water 
Street,  and  under  the  tall  trees  which  then  shaded  the 
banks  of  the  Holston.  Fully  twelve  hundred  Cherokees 
gathered  upon  the  ground,  and  from  far  and  near 
came  all  the  white  settlers.  None  wore  arms;  and  it 
was  curious  to  see  the  whites,  who  had  only  recently 
met  these  painted  savages  in  deadly  conflict,  now  frater- 
nizing with  them  as  if  their  relations  had  always  been 


TERRITORIAL  GOVERNMENT.  231 

friendl3\  Tho  Governor's  tent  was  pitched  on  a  gentle 
knoll  near  the  river  ;  and,  standing  there  in  full  dress — 
with  gilded  sword  and  epaulets,  and  three-cornered  hat 
bedizened  with  gold  lace — he  gave  audience  to  the  dusky 
delegates.  One  by  one,  to  the  number  of  forty-one,  they 
were  presented  to  him,  and  each  one  was  received  with 
as  much  courtesy  as  if  he  had  been  the  representative  of 
a  civilized  monarchy  ;  for  the  Governor  was  a  man  fond 
of  ceremony,  and  fully  believed  that  a  considerable  dis- 
play of  ^'fuss  and  feathers"  was  needed  to  impress  a  due 
sense  of  white  prowess  upon  the  savage  imagination. 
But  a  trifling  incident  which  occurred  on  the  first  day  of 
the  gathering  should  have  taught  him  differently.  Two 
men  then  came  together  on  the  treaty-ground  who  had 
not  met  before  for  ten  years.  The  two  were  clad  in 
buckskin  hunting-shirts  and  homespun  trousers,  with 
none  of  the  Governor's  tinsel  decorations  ;  but  they  were 
no  sooner  seen  together  on  the  grounds  than  the  Gov- 
ernor's marquee  was  deserted,  and  the  chieftains  gathered 
about  them  with  hand-shaking  and  every  manifestation 
of  friendship.  The  two  men  were  Sevier  and  Rob- 
ertson. 

On  the  2d  of  July  the  treaty  was  concluded.  It 
guaranteed  perpetual  peace  and  friendship  between  the 
whites  and  Cherokees  ;  and,  in  consideration  of  certain 
valuable  goods,  and  an  annual  payment  of  one  thousand 
dollars  in  money,  it  secured  from  the  Indians  the  cession 
of  all  lands  lying  north  of  *'  the  ridge  which  divides  the 
waters  running  into  Little  River  from  those  running  into 


232  JOHN  SEVIER. 

the  [Little]  Tennessee."  This  did  not  convey  to  the 
United  States  all  the  lands  which  had  been  settled  upon 
south  of  the  French  Broad  and  Holston  ;  but  the  chief- 
tains could  not  be  prevailed  upon  to  make  any  further 
extension  of  the  line,  and  the  settlement  was  acquiesced 
in  as  the  best  that  could  be  done  in  the  circumstances. 
Moreover,  the  United  States  Government  was  anxious  to 
be  in  friendly  relations  with  both  the  Creeks  and  Chero- 
kees,  pending  the  negotiation  which  was  still  going  on 
with  Spain  for  the  opening  of  the  Mississippi. 

These  Indians  occupied  the  territory  between  the 
Spanish  and  American  settlements.  The  Spaniards  were 
in  high  favor  with  most  of  the  chiefs  and  warriors  ;  they 
had  for  a  long  time  traded  with  them,  and  they  had 
pledged  to  them  the  protection  of  the  Spanish  king 
against  the  encroaching  progress  of  the  Americans.  This 
intercourse  the  Spanish  Government  had  fostered,  be- 
cause these  Indians  were  ready  instruments  for  harassing 
the  settlers ;  and  ceaseless  secret  warfare  was  to  be  the 
policy  of  Spain  until  she  could  force  the  Western  jifeople 
to  secede  from  the  Union.  The  Government  of  Wash- 
ington had  penetrated  the  designs  of  Spain,  and  it  aimed 
to  frustrate  them  by  a  policy  of  *' masterly  activity." 
Its  officers  were  instructed  to  treat  the  Spaniards  with 
courtesy,  and  to  act  only  on  the  defensive  toward  the 
Indians,  who  were  to  be  detached  from  the  Spanish  alli- 
ances if  possible.  This  had  now  been  done  in  express 
terms  by  treaty,  first  with  the  Creeks  and  now  with  the 
Cherokees,  both  of  whom  had  acknowledged  themselves 


TERRITORIAL  GOVERNMENT.  233 

to  be  ''under  the  protection  of  the  United  States,  and  of 
no  other  sovereign  whatsoeyer." 

But  these  Indians  were  faithless  and  treacherous. 
They  might  at  any  moment  yiolate  tlie  treaty,  and  come 
upon  the  frontier  settlements  in  overpowering  numbers  ; 
therefore,  as  Sevier  was  restricted  by  the  Government 
from  pursuing  bis  favorite  policy  of  invading  their  coun- 
try, he  must  put  his  own  country  into  the  best  posture 
for  defense.  To  this  end  he  built  a  cordon  of  block- 
houses along  the  frontier  ;  and  he  removed  his  own  resi- 
dence to  the  extreme  western  border,  where  he  could  act 
without  delay  as  the  emergency  demanded.  lie  built  a 
station  about  five  miles  south  of  White's  Fort,  and  among 
tlie  people  he  had  so  recently  saved  from  destruction. 
His  house  he  located  near  a  beautiful  spring,  which  gushes 
from  one  of  the  spurs  of  Bay's  Mountain,  and  in  the 
midst  of  a  hilly  and  picturesque  country.  It  was  of  logs, 
like  his  residence  upon  the  Nolichucky ;  but  it  was  com- 
modious and  comfortable,  and  much  better  adapted  to 
the  region  than  a  more  pretentious  dwelling.  This  re- 
moval of  Sevier,  from  an  old-settled  and  secure  district 
to  one  that  was  new  and  constantly  exposed  to  raids 
from  tlie  savages,  denoted  the  same  forgetfulness  of  self 
which  had  led  him  twenty  years  before  to  cast  in  his  lot 
with  the  Watauga  settlers. 

The  removal  of  Sevier  led  to  the  departure  of  Blount 
from  Watauga,  where  he  had  at  first  made  his  residence, 
and  his  locating  nearer  the  ''general  of  the  forces."  He 
chose  White's  Fort  as  his  residence,  and  built  there  at 


234  JOHN  SEVIER. 

first  a  plain  log-cabin,  on  a  gentle  knoll,  about  a  quarter 
of  a  mile  west  of  the  fort,  and  near  the  grounds  now  oc- 
cupied bj  the  university. 

The  coming  of  the  Governor  gave  the  place  an  impor- 
tance it  had  not  possessed  before.  It  became  at  once  the 
capital  of  the  Territory ;  a  court-house  went  up,  and  a 
jail  —  both  of  logs,  and  the  latter  only  fourteen  feet 
square — and  it  received  the  name  of  Knoxville,  in  honor 
of  General  Knox,  then  the  Secretary  of  War.  Settlers 
also  flocked  into  it,  and  it  was  not  long  before  the  town 
could  boast  of  a  post-ofifice,  with  a  mail  arriving  twice  a 
month  from  the  seaboard;  and  a  newspaper,  which  ap- 
peared as  often,  to  scatter  the  news  of  the  world  among 
the  secluded  backwoods. 

To  this  primitive  region  Sevier  removed  his  family, 
and  the  Governor  his  wife — the  gentle  and  accomplished 
Mary  Grainger.  In  his  humble  log-cabin  the  Governor 
held  such  state  as  he  could ;  and  there,  too,  Mary  Grain- 
ger dispensed  such  numberless  graces  as  charmed  alike 
the  rude  frontiersman  and  the  still  ruder  aborigines. 
But  a  rude  log-cabin  was  not  a  suitable  dwelling  for  this 
gentle  lady ;  therefore,  being  a  man  of  abundant  means, 
the  Governor  planned  and  erected  for  her  a  more  com- 
modious mansion.  It  was  located  on  the  slope  between 
the  fort  and  the  river,  and  when  built  was  as  pretentious 
a  dwelling  as  could  be  found  anywhere  west  of  the  sea- 
board. The  frame  was  of  oak,  covered  with  planed 
weather-boarding ;  and  the  house  was  surrounded  by  a 
well-kept  garden,  which  was  the  delight  of  all  beholders. 


TERRITORIAL  GOVERNMENT.  235 

It  looked  down  upon  a  log  court-house,  a  log  jail,  and 
a  score  of  log  dwellings,  which,  with  the  log  barrack 
already  mentioned,  composed  the  capital  of  the  yast 
Territory  over  which  Governor  Blount  now  held  do- 
minion. 

One  by  one  the  old  log-cabins  have  been  torn  down  to 
make  room  for  more  stately  structures  ;  and  to-day  only 
one  of  them  remains,  a  sad,  dilapidated  memorial  of  the 
simple  tastes  and  frugal  lives  of  the  past  century.  This 
sole  survivor  of  a  by-gone  time  was  in  its  day  the  home 
of  one  of  the  most  influential  citizens  of  Knoxville.  He 
was  a  God-fearing  man,  with  a  large  family,  and  he 
planned  to  build  a  two-storied  dwelling  with  room  and 
verge  enough  for  his  numerous  progeny.  But  when  the 
logs  were  upon  the  ground,  and  the  structure  had  risen  a 
short  distance  above  the  first  story,  he  said  to  the  friends 
who  were  aiding  in  its  erection:  '*  Why  should  I  have 
a  house  so  much  better  than  my  neighbors  ?  And,  be- 
sides, shall  I  not  be  temjoting  Providence  if  I  build  such 
a  tower  of  Babel  as  this  will  be  if  we  carry  it  up  a  full 
second  story  ?"  So  the  cabin  rose  no  higher  than  it  was, 
and  thus  it  has  remained  to  this  day,  except  that  a 
descendant  of  the  patriarch,  less  humble  of  spirit  than 
his  progenitor,  years  ago  covered  its  naked  ugliness  with 
a  coat  of  rough  weather-boarding. 

In  his  framed  house  the  Governor  lived  freely,  and 
even  elegantly,  and  dispensed  the  liberal  hospitality  so 
natural  in  the  olden  time  to  the  well-born  and  well-bred 
Carolina  gentleman.      Levees  and  receptions  were  fre- 


236  JOHN  SEVIER. 

quent,  and  the  mansion  was  often  crowded  with  stran- 
gers, drawn  to  the  frontier  by  business,  pleasure,  or 
curiosity,  from  all  parts  of  the  Union.  The  style  of 
hospitality  was,  of  necessity,  below  that  of  Philadelphia 
and  other  of  the  older  cities ;  but  in  the  condition  of 
things  it  was  not  less  expensive  to  the  liberal  host,  who 
was  forced  to  draw  all  his  luxuries  and  elegancies  from 
long  distances  on  pack-horses  or  clumsy  ox-wagons.  The 
visitor,  however,  whoever  he  was,  rich  or  poor,  white 
man  or  red,  was  sure  of  a  cordial  welcome,  and  none 
ever  went  away  without  speaking  in  honest  praise  of  the 
hearty  good  feeling  of  the  gentlemanly  Governor,  and 
the  genuine  grace  and  goodness  of  his  accomplished  lady. 
But  the  old  mansion  was  built  in. troublous  times, 
and  its  new  coat  of  paint  was  scarcely  dry  when  it 
narrowly  escaped  a  fiery  baptism.  For  the  Cherokees 
had  risen,  and  were  marching  on  the  settlements.  Con- 
cession and  conciliation  had  been  of  no  avail.  The 
treaty  of  Holston  was  not  a  year  old  when  they  fell 
upon  Eobertson,  and  now  John  Watts  and  the  Bloody 
Fellow  were  impatient  to  engage  in  a  shooting-match 
with  Nolichucky  Jack's  riflemen.  They  knew  the  orders 
of  his  Government — that  in  case  of  attack  he  should 
simply  defend  the  settlements,  and  under  no  circum- 
stances invade  the  Indian  country.  They  knew  this, 
and  also  that  in  the  fort  at  Knoxville  were  stored  three 
hundred  muskets  and  a  large  amount  of  ammunition, 
under  guard  of  but  two  invalid  soldiers,  while  Sevier  was 
twenty  miles  away  on  the  extreme  frontier,  and  the  Gov- 


TERRITORIAL  GOVERNMENT.  237 

ernor  was  at  AVatauga.  The  muskets  and  gunpowder 
were  too  glittering  a  prize  for  the  Cherokees  to  resist, 
with  Nolichucky  Jack  so  far  away,  and  under  orders 
not  to  pursue  them  into  the  Indian  country. 

So  it  came  to  pass  that,  soon  after  the  solitary  cannon 
of  the  fort  announced  the  sunrise  on  the  morning  of 
September  25,  1793,  a  horseman,  covered  with  foam, 
rode  in  hot  haste  into  the  quiet  town,  crying  out : 
*'  The  Cherokees  are  coming  !  A  thousand  strong  !  Not 
ten  miles  away  !    Every  man  to  the  barrack  ! " 

They  fled  to  tlie  fort,  the  men  leaving  the  plow  in 
the  furrow,  the  women  the  morning  hoe-cake  unbaked 
before  the  fire,  and  there  they  made  ready,  as  well  as 
they  could,  to  meet  and  repel  so  overwhelming  a  force 
of  the  enemy.  James  White,  the  pioneer  settler,  a  man 
now  somewhat  beyond  his  prime,  but  an  able  soldier, 
took  command  of  the  forty  settlers  who  had  gathered 
within  the  fort,  and  the  little  band  prepared  to  defend 
themselves  to  the  last  extremity. 

The  fire-arms  were  unboxed,  put  in  order,  and  set  be- 
side the  port-holes,  and  every  soul — even  the  women  and 
older  children — was  put  at  work  molding  bullets  and 
loading  muskets.  The  women  and  children  were  to  load 
while  the  men  were  to  fire,  and  thus  the  effective  force 
of  the  garrison  was  augmented  to  a  hundred.  There 
was  no  haste  or  noise,  but  all  worked  for  dear  life,  for 
well  each  one  knew  that  his  life  was  at  stake — for  the 
savages  spared  neither  sex  nor  age  ;  if  the  fort  were 
taken,  it  would  be  an  indiscriminate  massacre. 


238  JOHN  SEVIER. 

So  the  hours  wore  away — one  hour,  two  hours — and 
the  watchman  on  the  lookout  saw  as  yet  no  sign  of  the 
savages.  Then  another  horseman  rode  up  also  in  hot 
haste,  his  horse,  too,  covered  with  the  foam  and  dust  of 
hard  riding.  He  reported  the  Cherokees  fifteen  hundred 
strong,  at  Cavet's,  scarcely  eight  miles  away.  They  had 
halted  there,  set  fire  to  the  stables,  and  would  no  doubt 
massacre  the  thirteen  men,  women,  and  children  who 
were  at  the  station.  Was  not  this  a  prophecy  of  the  fate 
that  awaited  the  little  garrison  ?  This  they  all  thought, 
but  not  a  soul  gave  his  thought  expression.  With  firm, 
fixed  eyes  they  looked  into  one  another's  faces,  and  what 
these  looks  said  was,  "If  we  must  die,  we  will  sell  our 
lives  as  dearly  as  possible  ! " 

Then  other  anxious  hours  wore  away,  till  the  sun  be- 
gan to  sink  below  the  hills,  but  still  the  watchman  on 
the  lookout  called,  at  regular  intervals,  "Nothing  yet 
of  the  red-skins."  What  did  it  mean — this  delay  of  the 
savages  ?  At  nightfall  the  veteran  White  called  a  coun- 
cil, and  asked  every  man  this  question.  The  majority 
thought  that  the  Indians,  true  to  their  usual  tactics, 
were  waiting  for  the  darkness  to  cover  their  movements, 
and  that  they  would  be  upon  the  fort  by  midnight. 
White  himself  was  of  that  opinion,  and  he  asked, 
"But  what  can  we  do  —  forty  men  against  a  thou- 
sand?" 

The  answer  of  all  was  that  they  could  die,  but  they 
would  sell  their  lives  as  dearly  as  possible.  But  White 
had  no  thought  of  dying  any  sooner  than  might  be 


TEPwRITORIAL  GOVERNMENT.  239 

absolutely  necessary.  And  lie  believed  that  what  can 
not  be  effected  by  force  can  sometimes  be  accomplished 
by  stratagem.  A  mile  to  the  west,  by  the  route  the 
savages  would  approach,  is  a  high  ridge,  which  was  then 
covered  with  a  dense  growth  of  oak  and  poplar.  White 
proposed  that  all  the  men  in  the  fort,  except  two  of 
the  oldest,  should  repair  there  when  the  night  was  some- 
what advanced,  and,  concealed  among  the  trees,  in  a 
line  about  twenty  yards  apart,  await  the  coming  of  the 
Indians.  When  the  advance  of  the  savages  was  within 
short  musket-range  of  the  most  remote  of  the  garrison, 
he  should  fire,  and  that  should  be  the  signal  for  each 
man  to  take  deliberate  aim  and  bring  down  an  enemy. 
Then,  without  waiting  to  notice  so  mucb  as  the  effect  of 
his  discharge,  every  man  should  make  his  way  as  quickly 
as  he  could  to  the  fort,  which,  if  the  Indians  should 
come  on,  they  would  defend  to  the  last  extremity.  But 
it  w^as  thought  that  the  sudden  attack  in  the  woods 
would  throw  the  enemy  into  confusion  ;  that  he  would 
expect  a  formidable  ambuscade,  and  would  seek  his  own 
safety  in  flight,  leaving  the  fort  unmolested. 

It  was  a  hazardous  plan  ;  but  those  brave  men  put  it 
into  execution.  All  night  long  they  waited  there,  rest- 
ing upon  their  muskets  ;  but  no  savage  yell  broke  the 
stillness  of  their  vigil,  and  in  the  morning  another  horse- 
man came,  announcing  that  the  Indians,  after  destroy- 
ing Cavet's,  had  turned  suddenly  southward.  They  were 
then  in  full  retreat  to  the  Tellico,  and  close  at  their  heels 
was  Nolichucky  Jack,  the  Nemesis  of  the  Cherokees ! 


240  JOHN  SEVIER. 

This  the  savages  knew,  and  hence  their  sudden  flight  to 
their  mountain  fastnesses. 

For  several  months  the  people  had  been  greatly  ex- 
asperated over  the  repeated  outrages  of  the  savages,  and 
time  and  again  they  had  called  upon  Sevier  and  the  Gov- 
ernor to  allow  them  to  invade  the  Indian  country ;  but, 
in  compliance  with  their  instructions,  both  these  officers 
had  been  obliged  to  refuse  all  such  requests.  The  Gov- 
ernor, however,  had  addressed  the  Secretary  of  War  on 
the  subject ;  but  the  latter  had  replied,  declining  to  be 
led  into  a  useless  and  expensive  war.  Tbe  encroach- 
ments of  the  settlers  were,  in  his  opinion,  the  cause  of 
the  savage  outrages.  Let  those  cease,  and  the  Governor 
would  have  no  more  border  murders. 

This  statement  of  the  subject  did  not  meet  the  views 
of  the  border  settlers.  They  at  once  enrolled  themselves, 
and  were  about  to  march  upon  the  Cherokees,  when  the 
Governor  issued  a  proclamation  calling  upon  them  to 
desist  and  return  to  their  homes.  This  they  did,  on 
hearing  that  orders  had  been  given  to  a  company  of 
cavalry  to  range  between  the  Holston  and  the  Little 
River.  In  the  midst  of  this  excitement  we  have  the 
first  tidings  from  Colonel  John  Tipton  since  the  de- 
cease of  the  State  of  Franklin.  Under  date  of  March 
23,  1793,  the  '^Knoxville  Gazette"  has  this  paragraph 
in  relation  to  that  gentleman  :  "  Much  has  been  said 
about  the  attempts  and  determination  of  Colonel  John 
Tipton  to  raise  a  body  of  men,  regardless  of  law  and 
the  orders  of  the  Government,  to  destroy  the  Cherokee 


TERRITORIAL  GOVERNMENT.  211 

towns.  Only  five  men  appeared  at  his  rendezvous — 
Jonesboro — instead  of  his  boasted  nine  hundred.  They 
passed  througli  Jonesboro,  marched  to  a  still-house  [a 
groggery]  a  few  miles  below,  and  returned.  This  affords 
a  pleasing  proof  of  the  good  sense  of  the  people."  And 
it  also  showed  that  Colonel  Tipton  had  not  recovered 
the  popularity  he  had  lost  in  consequence  of  his  course 
toward  John  Sevier. 

In  the  exasperated  state  of  the  public  mind  it  was 
not  difficult  for  Sevier  to  collect,  within  twenty-four 
hours,  a  body  of  six  hundred  horsemen  to  invade  the 
Indian  country.  It  was  reported  to  him  by  James 
Carey,  one  of  the  United  States  interpreters  residing 
with  the  Cherokees,  that  ^*  the  impression  was  prevalent 
among  the  Indians  that  the  reason  the  Americans  did 
not  retaliate,  but  bore  patiently  the  injuries  they  had 
received  from  them,  was  the  posture  of  their  negotia- 
tions with  foreign  powers,  and  their  fear  of  offending 
them.  If  it  were  not  for  this,  the  Americans  certainly 
would  not  be  offering  and  begging  peace  in  return  for 
murders,  robberies,  and  bloodshed,  daily  committed  on 
their  citizens." 

It  was  neither  wise  nor  safe  to  let  the  daring  inroad 
of  John  "Watts  against  the  very  capital  of  the  Territory 
go  unpunished.  This  was  the  unanimous  sentiment  of 
the  people,  and,  his  action  being  now  authorized  by  the 
Secretary  of  the  Territorial  Government,  Sevier  pro- 
ceeded to  deal  a  sudden  and  destructive  blow  against 
the  very  heart  of  the  Creek  and  Cherokee  nations.     He 


242  JOHN  SEVIER. 

swept  through  the  Cherokee  country,  leaving  a  trail  of 
blackened  ruin  behind  him ;  and  then  he  pressed  on  into 
the  country  of  the  Creeks,  not  slackening  his  pace  till 
he  arrived  near  the  present  town  of  Eome,  Georgia, 
where  he  found  the  combined  Creek  and  Cherokee  forces 
drawn  up  to  dispute  the  passage  of  the  Hightower 
River.  The  rest  is  best  told  in  Sevier's  own  report  to 
the  Governor:  "In  the  afternoon  of  the  17th  inst." 
(October),  he  writes,  "  we  arrived  at  the  forks  of  Coosa 
and  Hightower  Eivers.  Colonel  Kelly  was  ordered,  with 
a  part  of  the  Knox  regiment,  to  endeavor  to  cross  the 
Hightower.  The  Creeks  and  a  number  of  Cherokees 
had  intrenched  themselves  to  obstruct  the  passage. 
Colonel  Kelly  and  his  party  passed  down  the  river, 
half  a  mile  below  the  ford,  and  began  to  cross  at  a 
private  place,  where  there  was  no  ford.  Himself  and 
a  few  others  swam  over  the  river.  The  Indians,  dis- 
covering this  movement,  immediately  left  their  in- 
trenchments,  and  ran  down  the  river  to  oppose  their 
passage,  expecting,  as  I  suppose,  that  the  whole  intended 
crossing  at  the  lower  place.  Captain  Evans  immedi- 
ately, with  his  company  of  mounted  infantry,  strained 
his  horses  back  to  the  upper  ford  and  began  to  cross 
the  river.  Very  few  had  got  to  the  south  bank  before 
the  Indians,  discovering  their  mistake,  returned  and 
received  them  furiously  at  the  rising  of  the  bank. 
An  engagement  instantly  took  place,  and  became  very 
warm,  and,  notwithstanding  the  enemy  were  at  least  four 
to  one  in  numbers,  besides  having  the  advantage  of  situa- 


TERRITORIAL  GOVERNAIENT.  243 

tion,  Captain  Evans  with  his  heroic  company  put  them 
in  a  short  time  entirely  to  flight.  .  .  .  Their  encamp- 
ment fell  into  our  hands,  with  a  number  of  their  guns, 
which  were  of  the  Spanish  sort.  .  .  .  The  party  flogged 
at  High  tower  were  those  which  had  been  out  with 
Watts.  AVe  took  and  destroyed  three  hundred  beeves, 
which  must  distress  them  very  much.  Many  women  and 
children  might  have  been  taken  ;  but,  from  motives  of 
humanity,  I  did  not  encourage  it  to  be  done,  and  several 
taken  were  suffered  to  mp^ke  their  escape.  Your  Ex- 
cellency knows  the  disposition  of  many  who  were  out 
on  this  expedition,  and  can  readily  account  for  this 
conduct." 

In  Evans's  '^heroic  company"  was  a  son  of  James 
White,  the  pioneer  of  Knoxville,  who  subsequently  rose 
to  eminence  as  Judge  Hugh  Lawson  White.  The  In- 
dians were  making  a  determined  stand  under  King- 
Fisher,  one  of  their  most  distinguished  warriors,  when 
young  White  leveled  his  rifle,  and  the  formidable  cham- 
pion fell  mortally  wounded.  This  decided  the  battle, 
for  the  Indians  immediately  broke  and  fled. 

Sevier  now  turned  his  face  homeward,  destroying 
every  town  and  village  in  his  way.  This  invasion, 
which  is  called  the  campaign  of  Etowah,  completely 
broke  the  spirit  of  the  Indians,  and  never  again,  during 
the  life  of  Sevier,  did  they  venture  to  attack  in  force 
the  French  Broad  and  Holston  settlements. 


CHAPTER  XL 

PIONEER  LIFE  IK   1796. 

The  hostility  of  the  Indians  continued  after  their 
crushing  defeat  at  Etowah,  but  they  never  again,  until 
1812,  mustered  in  force  for  a  general  attack  upon  the 
border.  For  a  time  they  made  inroads  upon  the  settle- 
ments in  small  gangs,  which,  stealing  at  midnight  upon 
some  solitary  cabin,  would  be  miles  away  by  the  morn- 
iug ;  but  gradually  even  these  raids  ceased,  for  the  fast- 
increasing  population  soon  gave  Sevier  so  considerable  a 
body  of  troops  that  he  was  able  to  patrol  every  hamlet  and 
every  by-path  in  the  Territory.  The  campaign  of  Etowah 
taught  the  Indians  that  Sevier  could  be  made  to  resume 
his  former  policy  of  carrying  the  war  into  the  enemy's 
country.  This  the  Cherokees  were  too  wise  to  invite, 
when  he  would  now  be  backed  by  such  a  force  as  could 
be  drawn  from  a  population  of  at  least  fifty  thousand  ; 
therefore,  they  beat  their  *' spears  into  pruning-hooks," 
exchanged  their  tomahawks  for  broad-axes,  and  with 
these  set  about  the  felling  of  the  forest.  Soon  after- 
ward Robertson  broke  up  the  nest  of  the  Chickamauga 
bandits,  and  then  the  whole  Cherokee  nation  took  to 


PIONEER  LIFE  IN  1790.  2^5 

peaceful  ways.  They  planted  and  sowed  and  gathered 
into  barns,  beginning  thus  that  career  of  civilization  in 
which  they  have  made  such  commendable  progress  in 
their  new  home  west  of  the  Mississippi.  From  this 
time  forward,  for  twenty  years,  peace  and  Nolichucky 
Jack  reigned  upon  the  border.  It  was  a  patriarchal 
**  reign,"  such  as  never  before  or  since  has  been  known 
in  this  country ;  but,  before  briefly  considering  it,  it 
seems  necessary  to  take  a  short  survey  of  the  way  of  life 
of  the  people  who  were  the  pioneers  of  civilization  be- 
yond tlie  Alleghanies. 

The  present  State  of  Tennessee  covers  an  area  of 
42,050  square  miles,  but  at  the  period  of  which  I  write 
the  Indian  title  had  been  extinguished  to  less  than  one 
sixth  of  this  surface.  Civilized  man  occupied  only  two 
detached  portions  of  it :  the  first,  an  irregular  parallelo- 
gram of  about  five  thousand  square  miles,  extending 
southwesterly  from  the  present  town  of  Bristol  to  the 
high  ridge  south  of  Little  Eiver ;  and  the  second,  an 
oblong  tract  of  about  two  thousand  square  miles,  ex- 
tending some  forty  miles  up  and  down  the  Cumberland, 
on  either  side  of  the  town  of  Nashville.  The  remainder 
of  this  vast  region  was  either  in  permanent  occupation 
by  the  savages  or  frequently  resorted  to  by  them  as  a 
hunting-ground  ;  and  they  were  estimated  to  number 
not  far  from  a  hundred  and  fifty  thousand,  of  whom  at 
least  twenty  thousand  were  warriors.  These  Indians 
were  the  immediate  neighbors  of  the  settlers ;  but  be- 
yond the  Mississippi  was  an  unknown  myriad,  in  friendly 


246  JOHN  SEVIER. 

alliance  with  the  others,  and  who  also  were  by  nature  and 
instinct  the  enemies  of  the  white  race.  Very  high  of 
courage  and  resolute  of  purpose  must  the  people  have 
been  who  in  the  space  of  twenty  years  could  not  only 
wrest  from  so  superior  a  force  the  fairest  portion  of 
their  possessions,  but  could  reduce  them  to  a  state  of 
vassalage  in  which  the  various  tribes  were  content  to  own 
these  intruding  strangers  as  lords  paramount  over  the 
fields  which,  time  out  of  mind,  had  held  the  graves  of 
their  ancestors. 

And  yet  the  people  who  achieved  such  astonishing 
results  had  no  permanent  military  organization ;  they 
occupied  scattered  plantations,  which,  in  most  cases, 
they  tilled  with  their  own  hands,  and  their  warlike  ex- 
peditions were  merely  episodes  in  their  lives.  Their  mili- 
tary operations  being  over,  they  returned  to  their  homes, 
and  resumed  the  axe  and  the  plow  with  which  they 
were  subduing  the  wilderness.  They  were  mostly  an 
agricultural  people,  having  no  large  towns,  and  very  few 
villages.  Jonesboro,  their  largest  settlement,  contained 
not  more  than  a  hundred  log-cabins ;  and  Knoxville, 
when  it  had  been  for  three  years  the  capital  of  the 
Territory,  numbered  only  thirty  houses,  only  one  of 
which  had  required  a  trained  mechanic  for  its  construc- 
tion. The  place  was  little  more  than  a  farming  hamlet — 
the  center  of  an  agricultural  district,  having  a  radius  of 
about  fifteen  miles,  and  a  total  population  of  not  ex- 
ceeding five  hundred,  some  of  whom,  like  John  Sevier, 
had  their  homes  upon  their  plantations,  but  kept  up  a 


PIONEER  LIFE  IX   1796.  2tl:7 

town  residence  on  account  of  official  duties,  or  because  it 
brought  them  more  closely  in  contact  with  the  outside 
world.  But  both  town  and  country  dwellings  were 
models  of  rustic  simplicit}^  and  often  men  w^ho  wielded 
a  wide  inlluence  had  their  abode  in  cabins  that  would 
now  be  thought  unsuitable  domiciles  for  any  one  above  a 
day-laborer.  The  father  of  Hugh  Lawson  White  was  the 
wealthiest  man  in  the  Knoxville  district ;  but  that  emi- 
nent jurist  learned  to  read  by  the  light  of  a  hickory-fire, 
and  studied  law  in  a  small  log  office,  having  a  puncheon 
floor,  and  not  a  pane  of  glass  in  its  two  narrow  windows. 
Xearly  all  of  these  original  cabins  have  crumbled 
away,  but  from  the  few  that  remain  it  is  easy,  with  the 
help  of  tradition,  to  reconstruct  the  life  that  was  led  by 
the  early  pioneers.  At  the  time  of  which  I  am  writing, 
the  traveler  could  not  journey  a  mile  in  any  direction 
along  the  valleys  of  the  Holston  or  "Watauga  without 
coming  upon  a  few  acres  of  clearing,  inclosed  within  a 
brush  fence,  in  the  midst  of  which  was  a  one-story  cabin 
of  unhewed  logs,  about  twenty  feet  square,  roofed  with 
split  poplar,  and  having,  going  up  on  the  outside,  a  huge 
chimney  of  sticks  and  clay.  Its  windows  would  be 
"glazed"  w^ith  coarse  paper,  made  transparent  by  a 
smearing  of  bear's  grease  ;  and  at  night  they  would  be 
protected  by  heavy  shutters,  stoutly  barred,  as  were  the 
doors,  to  keep  out  intruders.  Over  the  doorway,  both  in 
front  and  rear,  was  a  narrow  opening  tp  serve  as  a  look- 
out and  port-hole  in  case  of  attack ;  and,  until  John 
Sevier  brought  permanent  peace  to  the  border,  the  man 


248  JOHN"  SEVIER. 

of  the  house  never  opened  his  door  of  a  morning  till  he 
had  clambered  to  this  opening  to  see  that  no  savage 
enemy  was  lurking  about  his  dwelling. 

On  one  side,  the  house  was  flanked  by  a  small  patch 
of  inclosed  ground,  growing  the  ordinary  garden  vege- 
tables, and  on  the  other  by  a  log-barn,  or  a  few  ricks 
of  hay  or  corn-fodder.  Beyond  the  house  stretched  a 
broad  field  of  plowed  land,  mostly  in  Indian  corn, 
though,  if  the  farmer  was  but  a  recent  immigrant  from 
the  older  settlements,  it  might  contain  a  sprinkling  of 
wheat,  rye,  oats,-  and  other  edibles ;  for  this  soil  will 
produce  whatever  grows  in  the  temperate  regions.  But, 
let  it  contain  what  it  might  during  the  farmer's  first 
season,  by  his  second  it  would  be  pretty  sure  to  be  mo- 
nopolized by  the  native  cereal — for  corn  was  the  one 
best  adapted  to  the  condition  and  wants  of  the  pioneer. 
No  other  grew  so  fast,  matured  so  quickly,  or  yielded 
so  abundantly,  and  hence,  from  both  choice  and  neces- 
sity, it  was  the  food  most  cultivated  by  the  early  set- 
tler. "Without  it,"  says  Dr.  Eamsey,  "the  frontier  set- 
tlements could  not  have  been  formed  and  maintained. 
It  was  the  principal  bread  of  that  robust  race  of  men — 
giants  in  miniature — which,  half  a  century  since,  was 
seen  on  the  frontier." 

Beyond  the  little  clearing  stretched  an  almost  un- 
broken forest ;  but  threading  it  here  and  there  were 
foot-traces  and  bridle-paths  and  narrow  wagon-roads, 
encumbered,  perhaps,  with  stumps,  and  in  the  rainy 
season  hub-deep  in  mud,  but  leading  to   where  some 


PIONEER  LIFE  IN  1796.  249 

similar  dwelling  occupied  a  similar  clearing.  The  dwell- 
ings were  within  rifle-sound  of  one  another,  and  so  the 
pioneer  was  not  without  social  life  and  neighbors,  whom 
lie  probably  valued  the  more  from  the  fact  that  there 
were  not  very  many  of  them. 

Nor  was  the  pioneer  without  intercourse  with  the 
world.  If  he  lived  upon  or  near  a  highway,  a  stream 
of  human  life  flowed  past  his  door  almost  daily,  either 
in  bands  of  hunters  following  the  fast-retreating  deer 
and  buffalo,  or  in  long  cavalcades  of  immigrants  wend- 
ing their  slow  way  in  clumsy,  covered  wagons  to  homes 
still  farther  to  the  westward.  From  these  new-comers 
the  settlers  received  tidings  from  the  outside  worlds 
'•'news"  which  had  of  necessity  grown  old  on  its  jour- 
ney of  two  or  three  months  from  the  seaboard. 

The  settler's  life  was  anything  but  lonely.  In  this 
genial  climate,  where  man  seems  exempt  from  the  general 
law  *'In  the  sweat  of  thy  face  shalt  tliou  eat  bread," 
there  is  a  long  season  after  harvest,  and  again  after 
planting,  when  the  farmer  has  next  to  nothing  to  do. 
These  seasons  the  pioneers  devoted  to  friendly  inter- 
course with  their  neighbors,  and  numberless  were  their 
social  gatherings.  They  came  together  for  quilting- 
bees  and  dancing-shindies,  for  shooting-matches  and 
corn-shuckings  ;  and  these  were  often  scenes  of  unre- 
strained mirth  and  jollity,  but  always  of  innocent  and 
hearty  enjoyment.  Corn-shuckings  were  favorite  gather- 
ings, for  they  brought  together  the  young  and  old  of 

both  sexes ;  and  the  husking  and  shelling  of  the  corn 
23 


250  JOHN  SEVIER. 

did  not  in  any  way  interfere  with  the  free  flow  of  con- 
Tersation.  Scarcely  a  winter  eyening  passed  but  the 
neighbors  dropped  in  upon  one  another — for  a  mile  in 
a  new  country  is  not  nearly  so  long  as  a  mile  in  an 
old  one.  It  is  not  difficult  to  imagine  one  of  these 
gatherings,  or  to  conjecture  what  would  be  the  promi- 
nent topics  of  conversation  on  such  occasions.  They 
were  not  theological.  Such  subjects  afforded  no  chance 
for  discussion,  for  all  were  '^  Hard-shell  Baptists,"  who 
had  formulated  the  whole  duty  of  man  into  the  one 
phrase,  "Love  thy  neighbor,  and  hate  the  Cherokees." 
They  were  not  political ;  for  here,  too,  all  thought 
alike,  and  had  embodied  their  political  j)rinciples  in  one 
tenet,  "  Nolichucky  Jack,  first  and  last  and  all  the  time." 
Neither  of  these  subjects  would  engage  their  attention. 
Their  talk  would  be  of  the  dangers  they  had  passed 
and  the  obstacles  they  had  overcome  in  their  more 
than  twenty  years'  struggle  with  the  savages  and  the 
wilderness.  Then,  as  he  sat  by  the  broad,  open  fire-place, 
while  the  younger  people  were  gathered  around,  "a- 
shucking  of  the  corn" — 

"Dad  would  take  down  his  Deckard, 

And  tell  the  stirring  tale, 
How  'Chucky  Jack,  the  hero, 

Led  on  the  Indian  trail; 
|Iow  silently  we  followed 

"Where  he  did  lead  the  way, 
Till  the  savage  camp  we  sighted 

At  the  dawning  of  the  day. 


nONEErw  LIFE  IN  1790.  251 

Then  'Chucky  Jack  dismounted, 

And  gave  the  Indian  yell, 
And  down  we  swooped  upon  'em 

Like  devils  out  of  hell. 
The  bullets  they  did  rattle, 

About  our  ranks  like  hail; 
It  was  the  sort  of  battle 

At  which  the  brave  might  quail; 
But  through  it  all  our  leader, 

A-waving  of  his  blade, 
Rode  'mid  the  fire  and  slaughter 

As  cool  as  on  parade ; 
Though  many  a  savage  marksman, 

All  through  the  bloody  strife, 
Had  poised  his  deadly  rifle 

For  the  taking  of  his  life: 
But  never  yet  was  molded 

The  bullet  for  his  breast, 
For  there's  a  better  fate  awaiting 

Our  hero  of  the  West." 


They  were  a  fine  race  of  men  and  women  ;  but  they 
lived  in  deeds,  not  words,  and  so  have  left  but  scanty 
records  from  which  to  construct  their  histories.  Their 
lives,  their  very  names,  are  being  fast  hidden  under  the 
gathering  mold  of  a  century.  Even  the  children  who 
listened  to  their  stirring  tales  of  danger  and  deliverance 
are  old  men  now,  from  whose  minds  are  rapidly  fad- 
ing the  feeble  impressions  of  those  early  days ;  but 
with  them  all  still  linger  vivid  traditions  of  the  in- 


252  JOHN-  SEYIER. 

veterate  hostility  between  the  white  settlers  and  the 
Cherokees,  a  considerable  portion  of  which  once  power- 
ful nation  still  hoyered  along  the  border  when  Ten- 
nessee was  admitted  to  the  Union. 

Few  of  these  old  people  now  remain ;  but  here  and 
there  one  may  be  seen  among  the  Tennessee  mountains, 
tottering  along  under  the  weight  of  almost  a  cent- 
ury. I  have  met  about  a  score  of  them,  and  some  of 
the-  traditions  I  have  gathered  from  them  will  bear 
repetition,  as  they  cast  light  upon  the  lives  led  by  the 
early  settlers.  One  old  lady,  "high  up  near  Clinch 
Mountain,"  told  me  that  her  mother  used  to  relate 
how,  when  her  father  and  his  two  brothers  were  at  work 
in  the  field,  she  had  to  stand  guard  over  them  with  a 
rifle.  She  would  perch  herself  upon  the  roof  of  the  little 
cabin,  or,  more  often,  on  a  knoll  on  the  outskirts  of  the 
clearing,  whence  she  could  see  in  all  directions.  One 
day  a  score  of  savages  came  upon  the  three  men  and  one 
woman,  and  were  all  put  to  flight,  except  two,  who  were 
left  upon  the  ground  unfit  for  military  duty.  The  same 
old  lady  was  well  acquainted  with  the  famous  Parson 
Cummins,  who  wielded  the  sword  of  the  Lord  and  of 
Gideon,  and  was  in  the  habit  of  taking  his  rifle  into  his 
pulpit,  and  looking  carefully  to  its  priming  before  he 
became  too  much  engrossed  in  reminding  the  Lord  of 
what  he  ought  to  do  for  the  frontier  people. 

An  aged  patriarch  whom  I  met  in  the  vicinity  of  Knox- 
ville  knew  well  Major  James  Cozby,  of  Knox  County, 
who  had  endeared  himself  to  all  in  the  Territory  by  his 


PIONEER  LIFE  IN  1796.  253 

heroic  rescue  of  Seyier  from  the  clutclies  of  the  North 
Carolinians.  Cozby  was,  he  said,  a  man  of  iron  mold, 
standing  **six  feet  and  over  in  his  stockings,"  and  of  so 
huge  a  frame  that  even  those  stalwart  mountaineers 
seemed  striplings  beside  him.  His  dress  was  that  com- 
mon to  the  region — trousers  of  ordinary  linsey,  dyed  a 
dingy  red  with  the  inner  bark  of  the  butternut,  and  his 
coat  the  famous  buckskin  hunting-shirt,  open  in  front, 
and  displaying  a  breast  seamed  all  over  with  scars. 
When  my  informant  knew  him  he  had  retired  from 
the  dangerous  trade  of  killing  Cherokees,  and  taken  to 
the  more  peaceful  pursuit  of  practicing  upon  the  bodies 
of  his  white  neighbors.  He  was  a  physician  of  the  old 
school — one  of  the  kill-or-cure  persuasion — but,  with  the 
help  of  fresh  air  and  out-door  exercise,  he  managed  to 
keep  the  country  in  a  very  healthy  condition.  Far  and 
near,  through  rain  and  sleet  and  heat  and  cold,  and  at 
all  hours  of  the  day  and  night,  he  journeyed  on  his  heal- 
ing mission,  and  he  was  always  a  welcome  guest  at  every 
fireside — for  he  carried  the  children  safely  through  the 
whooping-cough  and  the  measles,  and  was  never  known 
to  demand  a  dollar  for  his  services.  H  a  patient  was 
able  and  willing  to  pay,  it  was  very  well ;  if  he  was 
not,  it  was  equally  as  well — or  rather,  it  was  better,  be- 
cause it  helped  to  swell  the  account  which  the  worthy 
physician  was  rolling  up  of  good  deeds  done  in  the 
body. 

With  his  other  rare  qualities  the  doctor  was  an  ad- 
mirable narrator — none  told  a  story  more  picturesquely  ; 


254:  JOHN  SEVIER. 

and  it  may  be  regretted  that  one  so  competent  to  be  tbe 
historian  of  Seyier's  campaigns  should  have  devoted  all 
of  his  later  years  to  dispensing  calomel  and  ipecacuanha 
among  his  neighbors.  He  was  fond  of  relating  how, 
on  one  occasion,  he  outwitted  a  band  of  Cherokees, 
who  had  surrounded  his  house  after  nightfall,  deter- 
mined to  rid  the  tribe  of  one  of  its  worst  enemies.  His 
domestic  animals  having  given  the  usual  signs  of  unrest 
by  which  they  warned  the  whites  of  the  approach  of  the 
savages,  he  looked  through  a  port-hole,  and  saw  obscurely 
a  band  of  twenty  stealthily  secreting  themselves  in  the 
adjoining  woods  and  fence-corners.  No  one  was  in  the 
house  with  him  but  his  wife  and  several  small  children, 
the  oldest  of  whom  could  only  just  make  out  to  lift  a 
musket ;  but  Cozby  barricaded  the  door,  put  out  the 
fire,  primed  his  two  rifles  afresh,  and,  with  hi?  wife  at 
one  port-hole  and  himself  at  the  other,  spent  the  night 
in  giving  orders  in  a  loud  voice  to  his  platoon  of — small 
children.  The  ruse  succeeded  ;  the  savages  were  held  at 
bay,  and  with  the  first  streak  of  dawn  he  had  the  satis- 
faction to  see  them  steal  silently  away  into  the  forest, 
without  so  much  as  firing  a  rifle. 

Cozby  used  also  to  relate  some  of  the  many  exploits 
which  entitle  the  women  of  the  border  to  a  rank  among 
heroines.  Among  others  was  the  story  of  a  widow,  who, 
having  lost  her  husband  in  the  wars,  resisted  all  entrea- 
ties to  repair  with  her  two  little  ones  to  the  fort,  but 
stood  her  ground  alone  in  the  forest,  scooping  a  bed  for 
her  children  under  the  floor  of  her  cabin,  and  standing 


PIONEER  LIFE  IN  1796.  255 

guard  oTcr  tliem,  night  after  night,  with  a  well-primed 
ritle,  till  the  very  savages,  in  admiration  of  her  intre- 
pidity, passed  her  on  their  midnight  raids,  and  left  her 
to  till  her  little  clearing  in  safety. 

And  he  also  told  of  the  wife  of  George  Mann,  whose 
house,  about  twelve  miles  above  Knoxville,  was  once  sur- 
rounded at  dead  of  night  by  a  band  of  twenty-five  Chero- 
kees.  Ilearing  a  noise  at  his  stables,  Mr.  Mann  went 
out  to  ascertain  the  cause,  when  he  was  shot  down  and 
scalped  by  the  savages.  Uncertain  of  the  fate  of  her 
husband,  the  wife  locked  the  door,  and  with  a  rifle  in 
her  hand — which  only  that  morning  she  had  learned  how 
to  use — she  seated  herself  by  the  entrance,  and  waited  in 
silent  expectation,  surrounded  by  her  sleeping  children. 
Soon  she  heard  approaching  footsteps.  Was  it  the  neigh- 
bors, aroused  by  the  firing,  coming  to  the  rescue  ?  No  ! 
for,  as  she  listened  more  intently,  she  recognized  voices 
in  a  strange  tongue.  They  were  the  Indians,  thirsty  for 
slaughter.  The  truth  flashed  upon  her — her  husband 
had  been  killed,  and  she  was  left  to  cope  single-handed 
with  a  horde  of  savages,  made  the  more  savage  by  the 
blood  they  had  tasted. 

She  made  no  sound,  but  firmly  grasped  the  rifle  and 
leveled  it  carefully  at  the  crevice  of  the  door.  Soon 
stealthy  steps  moved  along  the  wall,  and  the  door  was 
pressed  against  by  a  heavy  force  ;  in  a  moment  it  yielded 
and  partly  opened.  A  savage  was  there  on  his  hands 
and  knees,  another  was  behind  him,  and  still  another, 
and  a  dark  group  was  in  the  background.     Instantly 


256  JOHN  SEVIER. 

she  pulled  the  trigger.  The  first  savage  rolled  heavily  to 
the  ground,  the  second  yelled  with  pain,  and  then  the 
rest,  hastily  gathering  up  their  dead  and  dying  com- 
rades, fled  toward  the  stables.  Those  they  set  on  fire ; 
but  they  did  not  venture  to  again  attack  the  house  so 
heroically  defended.* 

Other  narratives  as  thrilling  as  the  foregoing  are 
contained  in  the  '^Knoxville  Gazette,"  a  file  of  which 
has  been  most  kindly  submitted  to  my  inspection  by 
the  Tennessee  Historical  Society,  of  JSTashville.  This 
journal  was  started  by  George  Roulstone,  November 
5,  1791,  and  was  the  first  newspaper  published  be- 
yond the  Alleghanies.  It  was  a  small  sheet,  and  the 
editor  seldom  ventured  to  express  an  opinion,  but  con- 
fined himself  to  the  easier  task  of  chronicling  passing 
events.  He  was  the  first  postmaster  of  Knoxville,  to 
which  office  was  sent  much  of  the  mail  matter  for  the 
district  east,  and  all  of  it  for  the  country  west,  of  the 
Holston.  The  mail  arrived  but  twice  a  month,  and 
on  "post-day"  half  -the  town  gathered  round  the  log 
post-office,  to  receive  their  letters— if  they  had  any — 
and  to  cheaply  glean  the  news  from  the  postman.  He 
traveled  on  horseback,  and,  though  the  schedule  time 
was  thirty  miles  a  day,  he  never  made  the  journey  from 
Philadelphia  in  less  than  thirty  days,  and  often  he  was  as 
long  as  fifty  on  the  way.     Infrequent  as  were  the  mail 

*  This  incident  is  also  narrated  in  Ramsey's  "  Annals  of  Tennessee," 
page  639. 


PIONEER  LIFE  IN  1796.  257 

arrivals  at  Knoxvillc,  there  was  absolutely  no  official 
mode  of  distributing  letters  received  at  that  office  for 
places  within  a  radius  of  a  hundred  miles.  But  any 
horseman  who  was  passing  from  one  settlement  to  an- 
other would  carry  letters  in  his  saddle-bags ;  and  then 
they  were  passed  from  hand  to  hand  until  they  reached 
their  destination.  Official  dispatches  were  often  trans- 
mitted in  this  manner,  and  generally  with  safety. 

The  receiving  of  a  letter  was  a  great  event  in  a 
neighborhood,  and  often  months  passed  without  one 
coming  to  the  smaller  villages ;  and,  when  one  did  ar- 
rive, it  was  the  signal  for  the  gathering  together  of 
all  the  neighbors  to  listen  to  its  reading.  The  rates 
of  postage  were  very  high  ;  and,  as  the  United  States 
Government  did  not  recognize  the  coon-skin  currency 
of  Tennessee,  letters  were  often  detained  in  the  offices 
for  months,  because  the  recipient  could  not  get  together 
enough  "Continental"  to  pay  the  postage. 

But,  poor  as  was  the  postal  service,  it   was  superior 
to  the  facilities  for  traveling.     There  were  few  roads, 
and  those  few  were  simply  avenues  cut  through  the 
forest,  and   so  encumbered  with   stumps,  and  perhaps 
with  'fallen  trees,  that  passing  over  them  was  danger- 
ous   and   well-nigh   impossible.      A  journey  then  from 
Knoxville  to  Philadelphia  was  equivalent  to  a  voyage 
now  from  New  York  to  China,  and   involved  about  as 
much  preparation.    Friends   came   together   to   take   a 
solemn  leave   of  the  traveler,  to    drink   his  health  in 
bumpers  of  punch,  and  to  wish  him   ^^ God-speed"  on 


258  JOHN  SEVIER. 

his  journey.  If  he  happened  to  be  a  public  man,  his 
going  would  be  mentioned  in  the  newspaper,  and  prayer 
might  be  offered  up  for  his  safety  by  the  clergyman 
at  church  on  Sunday. 

These  clergymen  were  of  a  peculiar  class — one  which 
has  disappeared  altogether  from  the  older  sections  of 
this  country,  and  is  now  only  rarely  seen  in  the  mining 
districts  and  back  settlements  of  the  West.  Most  of 
them  were  illiterate ;  but  some  had  considerable  talent, 
and  all  were  earnest.  God-fearing  men,  always  ready  to 

"Prove  their  doctrine  orthodox 
By  apostolic  blows  and  knocks." 

Till  the  advent  of  Bishop  Asbury,  of  the  Methodist 
Episcopal  Church,  in  1788,  they  were,  almost  without 
exception,. of  the  *' Hard-shell"  Baptist  persuasion,  and 
firm  believers  in  immersion,  plenary  inspiration,  election, 
predestination,  and  reprobation.  Their  theory  of  morals 
was  condensed  into  one  phrase  :  "Thus  saith  the  Lord." 
"What  he  commands  is  right ;  what  he  fq^bids  is  wrong ; 
and  the  Bible  is  his  infallible  word.  A  faith  how  sim- 
ple, and  yet  how  sublime  ! 

Their  Sunday  meetings  were  often  seasons  of  great 
religious  interest,  and  always  of  social  union,  when 
neighbors  came  together  in  a  friendly  way  and  culti- 
vated a  spirit  of  kindliness  and  good-fellowship.  The 
meeting-house  was  usually  of  logs,  located  at  a  cross- 
roads or  on  some  conspicuous  plot  in  a  settlement,  and 


PIONEER  LIFE  IN  1796.  259 

around  it  were  a  few  acres  devoted  to  the  abode  of  the 
dead.  Great  trees — the  walnut,  the  poplar,  and  the  lo- 
cust— shaded  the  little  incldsure,  and  gave  it  in  summer 
a  picturesque  beauty.  To  this  church  all  resorted,  for  the 
Sabbath  was  universally  observed.  On  this  day  all  work 
was  suspended,  and  high  and  low,  rich  and  poor,  arrayed 
in  their  Sunday  best,  wended  their  way,  on  foot  or  horse- 
back, through  the  quiet  woods,  to  the  house  of  prayer. 
The  men  were  clad  in  clean  shirts  and  *' bough  ten 
clothes,"  the  women  in  starched  cotton  gowns  and  new 
silk  hats  or  sun-bonnets,  and  all  met  on  the  rough 
benches  inside,  or  —  when  some  ^^ powerful"  preacher 
made  the  house  to  overflow — upon  the  grass  outside  the 
rude  edifice.  Then  the  preacher  would  give  out  the 
hymn,  and  Old  Hundred — sung  by  several  hundred 
voices  —  would  rise  upon  the  air,  and,  mingling  with 
the  music  of  the  birds,  float  away  among  the  neigh- 
boring trees,  till  the  whole  forest  echoed  with  the 
melody. 

"What  a  blessing,"  says  ^Yilberforce,  "is  Sunday, 
interposed  between  the  days  of  the  week  like  the  di- 
vine path  of  the  Israelites  through  Jordan  ! "  Ko  in- 
stitution has  contributed  so  much  to  the  welfare  of 
the  human  race.  To  it,  more  than  to  anything  else, 
are  due  the  peace  and  good  order  of  every  civilized  com- 
munity. Where  it  is  neglected,  are  found  ignorance, 
vice,  disorder,  and  crime  ;  where  it  is  observed,  peace 
prevails,  good  morals  are  promoted,  vice  is  suppressed, 
the  poor  are  elevated,  and  the  nation  prospers.     It  was 


260  JOHN  SEVIER. 

the  influence  of  the  Sabbath,  and  of  the  earnest  men 
who  ministered  in  those  rude  sanctuaries,  that  en- 
abled Sevier  and  his  compatriots  to  mold  restless 
backwoodsmen  into  order-loving  citizens,  and  to  plant 
a  healthy,  robust,  manly  civilization  beyond  the  Alle- 
ghanies. 

Meanwhile  population  had  flowed  into  the  Territory 
with  amazing  rapidity,  and  Knoxville,  its  capital,  had 
become  a  center  of  great  activity.  Though  the  giant 
trees  still  stood  in  and  about  it  in  primeval  grandeur, 
the  place  wore  more  of  a  civilized  appearance.  Broad 
streets  had  been  laid  out,  better  buildings  had  gone  up, 
and  several  marts  of  merchandise  had  been  opened, 
which  dispensed  the  substantial  necessities,  and  the  not 
so  necessary  luxuries,  of  the  entire  world  among  these 
rustic  people  of  the  backwoods.  In  the  *' Knoxville  Ga- 
zette" of  August  11,  1792,  James  Miller  announces  that 
he  will  receive,  in  exchange  for  all  descriptions  of  dry- 
goods  and  groceries,  *^bear,  deer,  otter,  wildcat,  musk- 
rat,  mink,  fox,  and  raccoon  skins,  and  all  kinds  of  fur 
whatever ;  besides  beeswax,  linsey,  and  700  linen  "  ;  and 
in  the  same  journal  Nathaniel  and  Samuel  Cowan  make 
a  somewhat  similar  announcement.  These  last  were  the 
great  traders  of  the  district ;  and,  what  is  singular,  at  the 
distance  of  nearly  a  century,  their  lineal  descendants  are 
the  principal  merchants  of  all  that  wide  region,  doing  a 
business  during  our  recent  civil  war  which  is  said  to  have 
mounted  into  the  millions.  { If  the  gentlemen  presiding 
over  the  present  palatial  establishment,  which  covers  the 


PIONEER  LIFE  IN"  1796.  261 

half  of  a  city  square,  could  see  the  commercial  edifice  of 
their  great-grandfathers,  they  would,  uo  doubt,  open 
their  eyes  wide  in  wonderment.  For  it  was  a  wonderful 
store  —  a  genuine  curiosity-shop — in  which  was  to  be 
found  CTcry thing  that  grows  in  the  air,  on  the  earth, 
and  in  the  waters  under  the  earth,  including  clean  con- 
sciences and  brave,  manly  hearts,  that  beat  kindly  to 
everything  human.  In  it  there  were  dry-goods  and  gro- 
ceries ;  crockery  and  hardware ;  drugs  and  dyestufi's  ; 
guns  and  ammunition  ;  hats,  caps,  and  brogans  ;  coffee 
from  Brazil,  and  tea  from  China ;  choice  wines  from  Ma- 
deira, and  sparkling  champagnes  from  France — or,  more 
probably,  from  Connecticut,  and  the  product  of  vines 
growing  on  the  trees  of  some  apple-orchard.  There  was 
food  also  for  the  mind  :  books  and  stationery — slates, 
pencils,  and  a  coarse  foolscap  paper,  considered  cheap  at 
five  dollars  a  ream.  The  principal  books  were  the  Bible, 
Watts's  and  Rippon's  Hymns,  the  **  Pilgrim's  Progress," 
Baxter's  ''  Saints'  Everlasting  Rest,"  and  Dillworth's 
"Spelling-Book" — for  the  American  "Grammatical  In- 
stitute" (the  first  edition  of  Webster's  Speller),  though 
published  more  than  a  dozen  years  before,  had  not  yet 
been  adopted  by  the  literary  magnates  of  the  backwoods  ; 
and,  consequently,  like  our  English  cousins,  they  still 
put  "u"  into  honor  and  endeavor. 

All  these  things  could  be  found  in  the  store  of  the 
Messrs.  Cowan,  and  many  more  of  which  I  have  not  seen 
an  inventory,  and  consequently  can  not  make  positive 

enumeration.     And  all  these  products  of  the  earth,  air, 
24 


262  JOHN  SEVIER. 

and  sea  were  to  be  had  by  the  frontier  people  for  a  fair 
amount  of  peltries  or  legal  currency. 

Let  no  one  consider  that  the  inventory  of  a  country 
trader's  shop  is  beneath  the  dignity  of  history.  Such 
things  mark  the  progress  of  a  people  in  civilization  ;  and 
we  are  beginning  to  learn  that  not  from  the  bulletins  of 
battles,  with  their  ghastly  record  of  broken  bones  and 
broken  hearts,  should  we  construct  the  annals  of  a  coun- 
try, but  from  its  newspapers,  the  scenery  its  people 
looked  upon,  the  habitations  they  dwelt  in,  and  the  tra- 
ditions they  have  handed  down  to  their  children  of  their 
peaceful  deeds,  their  ways  of  life,  their  habits  of  thought, 
and  their  views  u23on  the  stirring  questions  which  in 
their  time  agitated  the  nation.  Civilized  man  is  not  now 
a  mailed  warrior,  astride  of  a  prancing  steed,  with  lance 
in  rest,  ready  to  do  battle  to  all  comers.  He  is  a  home- 
keeping  individual,  going  about  in  every-day  clothes, 
and  with  an  eye  to  the  main  chance  ;  but,  nevertheless, 
he  is  courteous  to  his  friends,  loving  to  his  wife,  affec- 
tionate to  his  children,  has  some  vague  notions  of  his 
political  rights,  and  entertains  a  reasonable  hope  that,  by 
doing  justly,  loving  mercy,  and  being  regular  at  church 
and  prayer-meeting,  he  will  finally  get  to  even  a  better 
country  than  this  is.  Of  much  such  a  character  was  the 
population  which  at  this  time  tenanted  the  Western  back- 
woods. They  could  fight,  but  they  loved  peaceful  ways  ; 
and  their  greatest  conquest  was  that  which  they  achieved 
over  the  wilderness. 

The  well-filled  warehouses  of  James  Miller  and  the 


PIONEER  LIFE  IN   1796. 

Messrs.  Cowan,  and  the  grist  -  mill  of  good  Captain 
"White,  of  honorable  memory,  drew  crowds  to  Knoxville  ; 
but  greater  crowds  resorted  there  at  the  sessions  of  court 
and  of  the  Legislature.  Then  many  thousands  came  to- 
gether till  they  overflowed  the  four  spacious  taverns,  and 
were  forced  to  camp  out  upon  the  vacant  lots,  under  the 
trees,  or  in  the  clumsy  covered  wagons  which  are  still  to 
be  seen  in  that  region.  Not  many  years  ago  I  met  a 
very  old  gentleman  who  hud,  when  a  young  boy,  been 
present  on  one  of  these  occasions.  lie  thought  it  was  in 
1796,  when  Sevier  was  first  elected  Governor,  and  had 
come  to  Knoxville  to  attend  the  session  of  the  first  State 
Legislature.  Of  this,  however,  he  was  not  certain  ;  but 
he  vividly  remembered  the  circumstances  of  the  occasion. 

The  old  gentleman  said  that  his  father  lived  some 
miles  in  the  country,  but  he  had  fought  under  and  voted 
for  Sevier,  and  he  was  bound  to  see  him  open  his  first 
Legislature.  However,  he  was  a  thrifty  man,  and,  in 
order  to  hit  two  birds  with  one  stone,  he  loaded  his 
farm-wagon  with  'Hruck,"  to  exchange  at  Cowan's  store 
for  tea  and  coffee  and  "  bough  ten  goods"  generally. 
This  he  did  overnight,  and  with  the  first  streak  of  dawn 
he  put  his  span  of  barbered  mules  to  the  wagon  and  set 
out  for  the  capital — he  and  his  wife  perched  upon  a  high 
seat  in  front,  and  the  boy  behind,  astride  of  the  bag  of 
corn  which  was  to  feed  the  animals. 

The  mules  were  '*  nimble  critters,"  and  they  got  the 
wa^on  to  town  by  ten  in  the  morning  ;  but  the  place  was 
already  filled  with  a  great  crowd,  all  clad  in  their  Sun- 


264:  JOHN  SEVIER. 

day  clothes,  who  had  come  to  witness  the  imposing  cere- 
monies of  the  occasion.  The  women  were  mostly  arrayed 
in  calico  or  linsey  gowns,  Quaker  hats,  or  sun-bonnets, 
with  neatly  crimped  caps,  fastened  underneath  the  chin 
by  a  narrow  ribbon ;  and  the  men  wore  linsey  trousers, 
and  hunting-shirts  of  the  same  material,  or  of  clean 
buckskin,  from  the  breast-pocket  of  which  protruded — 
for  that  occasion  only — a  flaming  red  bandana.  The 
shoes  of  all  were  polished  into  looking-glasses,  with  a 
mixture  of  soot  and  swine's  grease ;  and  even  the  ugly 
slouched  hats  of  the  men  had  taken  on  a  holiday  appear- 
ance. It  was  an  orderly,  good-natured  crowd,  bound  to 
have  a  good  time,  and  to  get  its  money's  worth  in  a  sight 
of  the  Governor  and  the  high  officials  of  the  new  Com- 
monwealth. 

But  the  boy  gave  little  heed  to  the  people,  for  his 
mind  was  soon  engrossed  in  looking  at  the  wonderful 
things  in  Cowan's  store,  to  which  his  father  had  bent  his 
steps  as  soon  as  he  had  securely  tethered  his  mules — 
having  in  mind  to  get  through  with  the  serious  business 
of  the  day  before  he  gave  attention  to  its  holiday  attrac- 
tions. He  had  scarcely  finished  his  traffic  for  "store- 
goods,"  when  a  great  commotion  was  heard  in  the  street, 
with  a  mingled  chorus  of  cheers  and  the  Tennessee  yells 
with  which  these  people  were  accustomed  to  go  into  bat- 
tle. Every  one  rushed  in  hot  haste  out-of-doors,  and  the 
boy,  being  like  Zaccheus  short  of  stature,  clambered 
upon  the  horse-block  in  front  of  the  warehouse,  where  he 
could  see  over  the  heads  of  the  multitude. 


PIONEEPw  LIFE  IN   1796.  2G5 

The  street  was  lined  on  both  sides  by  an  eager  crowd, 
and  beyond,  toward  the  river,  a  cavalcade  of  horsemen 
was  approaching.  One  who  rode  slightly  in  advance  of 
the  others  was  the  object  of  especial  attention.  He  no 
sooner  came  in  sight,  than  cheer  after  cheer  went  up 
from  the  waiting  throng,  rending  the  air,  and  making 
the  leaves  upon  the  old  trees  to  tremble.  lie  rode  a 
magnificent  horse,  and  he  sat  him  as  if  he  had  been  born 
in  a  saddle.  He  was  a  man  somewhat  above  fifty ;  but 
his  form  was  erect,  his  eye  undimmed,  and  his  natural 
force  not  yet  abated .  He  had  a  genial  look  and  an  in- 
describable charm  of  manner,  and  when  he  spoke,  as  he 
occasionally  did,  to  a  by-stander,  his  eye  actually  beamed 
with  kindliness.  He  asked  about  the  health  of  a  wife  or 
child,  or — with  a  merry  twinkle  in  his  eye — when  the 
next  young  soldier  was  to  be  expected.  But  in  all  this, 
though  there  might  be  jest,  there  was  no  trace  of  the 
demagogue,  but  a  hearty  sincerity  which  drew  all  hearts 
to  him  irresistibly.  As  he  passed  along,  the  women 
dropped  courtesies,  and  the  men  took  off  their  hats,  but 
there  were  no  boisterous  demonstrations.  Their  cheers 
they  reserved  till  he  was  well  on  his  way,  and  there  was 
no  longer  any  chance  of  their  catching  his  glance  of 
recognition.  For  this  was  Nolichucky  Jack,  their  new 
Governor,  and  the  idol  of  these  people. 

Riding  on  his  right,  and  as  nearly  abreast  of  Sevier 
as  the  latter's  high-mettled  horse  would  allow  of,  was 
an  older  and  shorter  man,  somewhat  stout,  and  with 
grizzled,  mole-colored  hair.     His  head  was  bent  slightly 


266  JOHiT  SEVIER. 

forward,  so  that  the  boy  could  see  only  his  heavy  eye- 
brows. He  seemed  absorbed  in  himself,  and  scarcely 
conscious  of  what  was  going  on  around  him ;  but  the 
lad  observed  that  he  had  prominent  features,  and  a  face 
darkened  and  reddened  by  exposure,  and  that  the  people 
paid  him  much  attention.  His  dress  was  not  so  neat 
and  well-fitting  as  Sevier's,  and  indeed  he  seemed  alto- 
gether careless  of  his  personal  appearance,  as  if  he  had 
more  important  things  to  think  about.  "And  he  had," 
said  the  old  gentleman,  "for  that  was  Robertson,  the 
pioneer  of  Watauga,  the  founder  of  Nashville,  and  the 
man  who,  for  fifteen  years,  with  never  a  thousand  men, 
had  fought  the  whole  Creek  and  Cherokee  nations." 

There  were  some  twenty  or  thirty  in  the  party  of 
horsemen  ;  but  none  of  the  others  did  the  old  gentleman 
particularly  remember,  except  one,  in  a  high  cocked 
hat,  who  rode  a  short  way  in  the  rear  of  Sevier — a  slight, 
erect,  wiry  man,  of  about  thirty  years,  who  sat  his  horse 
as  if  about  to  charge  upon  an  enemy.  "I  needn't  tell 
you  how  he  looked,"  said  the  old  gentleman,  "for  that 
was  Andrew  Jackson,  and  his  face  is  better  known  than 
any  other  man's  in  America,  except  George  Washing- 
ton's." 

The  crowd  closed  in  on  the  rear  of  the  Governor  and 
his  party,  and  the  boy  and  his  father  followed  to  wit- 
ness the  opeuing  of  the  Legislature.  Soon  the  proces- 
sion passed  the  new  brick  house  of  Major  McLellan,  a 
son-in-law  of  Sevier,  in  the  wooden  wing  of  which  the 
Legislature  was  shortly  afterward  to  hold  its  sessions. 


PIONEER  LIFE  IN   1796.  267 

and  then  it  moved  on  to  the  little  log  court-house  in 
which  the  wisdom  of  the  State  was  to  assemble.  Here 
Sevier  dismounted  and  led  the  way  into  the  building ; 
and  then  the  legislators  filed  in  and  took  their  seats 
upon  the  rude  plank  benches.  Many  of  them  were  men 
who,  had  they  lived  in  an  older  community,  w^ould  have 
had  pages  devoted  to  their  exploits,  but  now  their  names 
are  scarcely  to  be  read  except  upon  the  map  of  Tennes- 
see. The  backwoods  people  were  too  busy  to  write  his- 
tory, and  the  State  has  been  chary  of  her  monuments  ; 
but  she  has  tried  to  perpetuate  the  memory  of  her  great- 
est worthies  by  giving  their  names  to  her  various  coun- 
ties. There  are  to  be  found  the  names  of  many  of  the 
men  who  listened  to  the  inaugural  address  of  the  new 
Governor. 

Soon  Sevier  mounted  the  platform  at  the  end  of  the 
room,  and  delivered  the  address  which  is  to  be  found 
in  its  proper  place  on  one  of  the  following  pages.  It 
was  very  brief,  but  it  might  be  taken  as  a  model  for 
all  similar  documents.  When  he  rose  he  was  greeted 
by  tumultuous  cheering,  and  a  like  demonstration  fol- 
lowed when  he  had  ceased  speaking.  All  this  the  boy 
saw  and  heard,  for  the  doors  and  windows  were  open, 
and  when  he  told  me  of  it,  eighty-three  years  afterward, 
he  added,  while  his  eye  lighted  up  with  an  almost  youth- 
ful enthusiasm  :  *^  lie  was  a  great  man,  sir  ;  I  don't 
know  that  the  country  has  had  any  greater  ;  it  certainly 
has  had  none  who  was  so  much  beloved  by  the  people. 
He  was  their  idol.      To  them  his  smile  was  a  benedic- 


268  JOHN  SEVIER. 

tion ;  his  word,  an  inspiration  ;  the  touch  of  his  hand, 
an  anointing  :/  and  yet,  sir,  this  great  State,  which  he 
created,  lets  him  sleej)  in  a  distant  grave,  without  so 
much  as  the  simplest  monument ! " 

So  far  as  I  know,  only  two  of  the  old  buildings  which 
looked  down  on  these  scenes  are  now  remaining.  One 
of  them  is  the  brick  dwelling  of  Major  McLellan,  in  the 
wooden  wing  of  which  were  held  the  subsequent  sessions 
of  the  Legislature.  When  it  was  built,  this  house  was 
regarded  by  the  country  people  as  one  of  the  seven  won- 
ders of  the  world,  and  from  far  and  near  they  came  to 
see  such  a  monstrous  pile  of  brick  and  mortar ;  but  to 
eyes  accustomed  to  modern  architecture  it  is  a  most 
unsightly  structure.  It  is  now  occupied  as  a  negro 
boarding-house.  Of  more  inviting  appearance  is  the 
wooden  building  which  was  the  residence  of  William 
Blount,  while  he  was  the  Governor  of  the  Territory. 
It  shows  its  age,  but  is  still  in  good  preservation,  and 
still  surrounded  by  a  well-kept  garden,  which  one  can 
easily  see  may  have  been  a  delight  to  all  beholders, 
making  the  attractive  mansion  still  more  attractive. 
Not  many  years  ago  I  wandered  through  its  half-vacant 
rooms,  and,  as  I  looked  about  upon  its  dingy  walls  and 
smoke-begrimed  rafters,  there  rose  up  before  me  a  vision 
of  that  by-gone  time — of  the  genial  old  Governor  and 
his  gentle  lady,  and  of  all  the  brave  men  and  beautiful 
women  who  once  made  the  glad  music  of  life  resound 
through  its  deserted  chambers.  And  now,  where  are 
they  ?    Silence,  death's  music,  is  over  and  around  them  ; 


PIONEEPw  LIFE  m  1T9G.  269 

but  a  beauty  and  a  fragrance  went  out  from  their  lives 
which  have  floated  down  to  us,  and  will  be  felt  by  many 
coming  generations.  Men  die,  but  their  deeds  live  after 
them ;  and  the  deeds  of  these  men  will  live  when  much 
of  later  history  is  forgotten. 


CHAPTER  XII. 

THE   KEW   COMMONWEALTH. 

Populatio:n"  in  the  State  of  Franklin  was  at  a  stand- 
still during  its  brief  and  troubled  existence.  It  con- 
tained thirty  thousand  people  in  1784,  and  it  was  esti- 
mated to  have  no  more  when  Sevier  went  out  of  oflSce 
in  March,  1788.  And  this  was  during  a  period  when 
an  unparalleled  tide  of  emigration  was  sweeping  over 
the  Alleghanies.  But  this  tide  sought  the  more  north- 
ern territory  which,  though  equally  exposed  to  savage 
invasion,  was  not  torn  in  a  like  manner  by  civil  dis- 
sension. In  1783  the  population  of  Kentucky  was  esti- 
mated at  twelve  thousand,  and  by  the  spring  of  1784 
at  twenty  thousand.*  In  1784,  thirty  thousand  immi- 
grants are  said  to  have  come  into  the  Territory  from 
Virginia  and  North  Carolina,!  while  19,889  passed 
Muskingum,  going  down  the  Ohio  to  Kentucky,  be- 
tween August  1,  1786,  and   May   15,  1789.^    In  1790 

*  Monette's  "Valley  of  the  Mississippi,"  vol.  ii,  p.  143. 
f  Albach's  "Western  Annals,"  p.  419. 
X  "Columbian  Magazine,"  January,  IVOO. 


THE   NEW   COMMONWEALTH.  271 

the  population  of  Kentucky,  by  actual  enumeration,  was 
73,G77,  while  it  was  not  till  1793  that  the  5,000  adult 
males  were  found  in  the  Southwest  Territory,  which,  by 
the  provisions  of  the  Ordinance  of  1787,  were  to  entitle 
it  to  a  Territorial  Legislature. 

This  Legislature  came  together  on  the  fourth  Mon- 
day of  February,  1794,  and  its  first  act  was  to  nominate 
ten  persons,  from  among  whom  Congress  was  to  choose 
five,  to  serve  as  a  Legislative  Council.     Among  the  five 
thus  selected  by  Congress  was  John  Sevier.     This  Coun- 
cil, with  the  Governor  and  the  House  of  Delegates,  con- 
stituted the  first  General  Assembly  for  the   Southwest 
Territory,  which  met  in  the  ensuing  August.     The  min- 
utes of  the  session  show  that  Sevier  took  at  once,  and 
as  a  thing  of  course,  an  active  part   in  the  business  of 
legislation.     Being  appointed  by  the  Council  to  confer 
with  the  House  of  Representatives  as  to  the  order  to 
be  observed  in  the  transaction  of  business,  he  reported 
the  following  ''rules  of  decorum"  for  the  government 
of  the  Legislature,  and  they  are  here  quoted  as  a  curious 
illustration  of  the  primitive  character  of  the  legislators, 
who  stood  in  need  of  such  instructions. 

1.  When  the  Speaker  is  in  the  chair,  every  member 
may  sit  in  his  place  with  his  head  covered. 

2.  Every  member  shall  come  into  the  House  un- 
covered, and  shall  continue  so  at  all  times  but  when 
he  sits  in  his  place. 

3.  No  member  on  coming  into  the  House,  or  remov- 
ing from  his  place,  shall  pass  between  the  Speaker  and 


272  JOHN  SEVIER. 

a  member  speaking,  nor  shall  any  member  go  across  the 
House,  or  from  one  part  thereof  to  the  other,  while 
another  is  speaking. 

4.  When  any  member  stands  to  speak,  he  shall  stand 
in  his  place  uncovered,  and  address  himself  to  the 
Speaker ;  but  he  shall  not  proceed  to  speak  until  per- 
mitted so  to  do  by  the  Speaker,  which  permission  shall 
be  signified  by  naming  the  member. 

5.  When  any  member  is  speaking,  no  other  shall 
stand  or  interrupt  him ;  but  when  he  is  done  speak- 
ing, and  has  taken  his  seat,  any  other  member  may 
rise,  obserying  the  rules. 

6.  When  the  Speaker  desires  to  address  himself  to 
the  House,  he  shall  rise,  and  be  heard  without  inter- 
ruption, and  the  member  then  speaking  shall  take  his 
seat. 

7.  When  any  motion  shall  be  before  the  House,  and 
not  perfectly  understood,  the  Speaker  may  explain,  but 
shall  not  attempt  to  sway  the  House  by  arguments  or 
debate. 

8.  He  that  digresseth  from  the  subject,  to  fall  on 
the  person  of  any  member,  shall  be  suppressed  by  the 
Speaker. 

10.  Exceptions  taken  to  offensive  words,  to  be  taken 
the  same  day  they  shall  be  sj^oken,  and  before  the  mem- 
ber who  spoke  them  shall  go  out  of  the  House. 

18.  Upon  adjournment,  no  member  shall  presume  to 
move  until  the  Speaker  arises  and  goes  before. 

The  above  rules  were  adopted  on  the  second  day  of 


THE  NEW   COMMONWEALTH.  273 

the  session,  and  by  the  fourth  day  bills  had  been  re- 
ported to  regulate  the  militia  of  the  Territory;  to 
establish  judicial  courts ;  to  make  provision  for  the 
poor;  declaring  what  property  should  be  liable  to  tax- 
ation ;  to  levy  a  tax  for  the  support  of  goyernment 
for  1794 ;  and  for  the  relief  of  such  persons  in  the 
militia  as  had  been  disabled  by  wounds,  or  rendered 
incapable  of  procuring,  for  themselves  and  families, 
subsistence ;  and  providing  for  the  widows  and  orphans 
of  such  as  had  died.  The  paternity  of  the  last  bill  is 
attributed  directly  to  Sevier ;  the  speedy  enactment  of 
the  others  was  no  doubt  largely  due  to  the  surprising 
energy  that  he  was  accustomed  to  infuse  into  any  busi- 
ness with  which  he  was  connected. 

Among  other  acts   passed  by   this   Legislature  was 
one  incorporating   Blount   College,  which   subsequently 
became  the  University  of   Tennessee,   and  has  still  a 
flourishing  existence.      The   session  lasted  thirty-seven 
days,  the  members  coming  together  at  seven  o'clock  in 
the  morning,  and  remaining  in  session  so  long  as  they 
could  see  without  candles.     The  Council  assembled  in 
the  fort,  or  in  the  large  room  of  the  village  tavern ; 
the   Representatives  met  in   a   one-story  log  building, 
about  twenty  feet  by  thirty,  which   had  been  erected 
for  a  land-office.     The  probable  expenses  of  the   Ter- 
ritory for  1794,  which  had  been  ordered  to  be  ascer- 
tained, were  reported  as  *'two  thousand,  three  hundred 
and  ninety  dollars"  !    Before  their  adjournment  the  two 
Houses  concurred  in  a  resolution  requesting  ''the  Gov- 


274  JOHIlT  SEVIER. 

ernor  to  direct  that,  when  the  census  is  taken  next 
June,  the  sense  of  the  people  may  at  that  time  be  in- 
quired into,  how  far  it  may  be  their  wish  for  admis- 
sion into  the  Union  as  a  State.'' 

The  census  which  was  held  in  pursuance  of  this 
resolution  disclosed  the  fact  that  there  were  77,262  peo- 
ple in  the  Territory,  of  whom  nearly  sixty-seven  thou- 
sand were  whites,  and  that,  consequently,  it  was  entitled 
to  admission  into  the  Union  as  a  State.  Accordingly,  a 
convention  was  held  at  Knoxville  on  the  11th  of  Janu- 
ary, 1796,  and  a  constitution  adopted  for  a  new  State, 
to  be  called  Tennessee.  Writs  of  election  were  then 
issued,  which  resulted  in  the  choice  of  John  Sevier  as 
Governor.  There  was  no  opposing  candidate.  Thus, 
after  twelve  years  of  varied  fortune,  was  it  shown  that 
Sevier  was  still  the  unanimous  choice  of  the  people. 
Until  now  they  had  not  been  able  to  express  their  will ; 
but  from  this  time  forward,  to  the  day  of  his  death,  he 
was  in  name,  as  well  as  in  fact,  their  leader.  The  ad- 
ministration of  Blount  had  been  universally  satisfactory, 
but  the  people  did  not  so  much  as  consider  his  name  for 
the  office  which  general  opinion  recognized  as  belonging 
of  right  to  the  man  who  for  more  than  twenty  years  had 
been  the  chief  stay  and  bulwark  of  the  Territory.  How- 
ever, on  the  assembling  of  the  Legislature  in  the  follow- 
ing March,  Blount  was  elected  one  of  the  Senators  of  the 
new  State  in  Congress,  William  Cocke  being  made  his 
associate  Senator ;  and  Andrew  Jackson,  who  had  for 
some   years   been   United   States   District  Attorney  in 


THE  NEW   COMMONWEALTH.  275 

Robertson's   colony   on  the  Cumberland,   was  chosen  as 
Representative  in  the  Lower  House  of  Congress. 

Sevier's  first  message  to  the  Legislature  on  the  assem- 
bling of  the  two  Houses  is  a  model  of  brevity,  and  well 
worthy  of  preservation.     It  was  as  follows  : 

'•'  Gentlemen  of  the  Senate  and  House  of  Representatives : 

"The  high  and  honorable  appointment  conferred  upon 
me  by  the  free  suffrage  of  my  countrymen  fills  my  breast 
with  gratitude,  which,  I  trust,  my  future  life  will  mani- 
fest. I  take  this  early  opportunity  to  express,  through 
you,  my  thanks  in  the  strongest  terms  of  acknowledg- 
ment. I  shall  labor  to  discharge  with  fidelity  the  trust 
reposed  in  me ;  and,  if  such  my  exertions  should  prove 
satisfactory,  the  first  wish  of  my  heart  will  be  grati- 
fied. 

"  Gentlemen  :  accept  of  my  best  wishes  for  your 
individual  and  i^ublic  happiness ;  and,  relying  upon 
your  wisdom  and  patriotism,  I  have  no  doubt  but  the 
result  of  your  deliberations  will  give  permanency  and 
success  to  our  new  system  of  government,  so  wisely 
calculated  to  secure  the  liberty  and  advance  the  happi- 
ness and  prosperity  of  our  fellow-citizens. 

"John"  Sevier." 

The  machinery  of  the  new  State  was  now  in  full 
operation,  and  it  soon  became  apparent  that  the  people 
beyond  the  mountains  had  entered  upon  a  new  and  more 
prosperous  era.     Their  history  of  twenty-six  years  had 


276  JOHN  SEVIER. 

been  a  stormy  one,  in  which,  on  several  occasions,  their 
very  existence  had  depended  uj^on  the  soldierly  abilities 
of  John  Sevier ;  but  now  this  remarkable  man  was  to 
display  qualities  equally  as  notable,  but  of  a  totally 
opposite  character.  He  was  to  be  even  greater  in  peace 
than  he  had  been  in  war ;  and  the  autocratic  power 
which  he  wielded  by  virtue  of  his  wonderful  popularity 
was  to  be  exerted  altogether  for  the  public  good.  He 
saw  that  the  prosperity  of  the  new  State  depended  upon 
peace,  internal  and  external ;  and  this  he  determined  to 
secure  by  extending  absolute  justice  to  all  men — red  as 
well  as  white — who  had  their  homes  within  the  limits  of 
his  Commonwealth.  The  exercise  of  his  peace  policy  he 
began  upon  his  personal  enemies.  Among  his  first  ap- 
pointments were  those  of  John  Tipton,  James  Stuart, 
and  Robert  Blair  as  magistrates  of  Washington  County, 
and  the  same  John  Tipton  and  John  Blair  as  commis- 
sioners for  the  town  of  Jonesboro — all  of  which  persons 
had  for  a  long  time  been  his  personal  and  political 
enemies. 

In  his  efforts  to  preserve  peace  with  the  Indians, 
Sevier  was  aided  by  a  recent  treaty  between  the  United 
States  and  Spain,  by  which  the  latter  power  had  con- 
ceded the  navigation  of  the  Mississippi,  and  relinquished 
her  "protection"  over  the  Southwestern  Indians.* 

*  This  Spanish  imbroglio,  which  for  ten  years  endangered  the  exist- 
ence of  the  newly-formed  Union,  is  one  of  the  most  interesting  chap- 
ters in  American  history ;  and  I  shall  attempt  to  relate  it  in  a  life  of 
Robertson,  which  I  purpose  to  write  in  another  volume. 


THE   NEW   COMMONWEALTH.  277 

The  condition  of  the  settlers  south  of  the  French 
Broad  and  Holston  was  still  not  in  every  way  satis- 
factory. A  portion  of  their  lands  had  been  acquired  by 
the  United  States  under  the  treaty  of  Ilolston,  but,  no 
land-office  having  yet  been  opened,  the  settlers  had  not 
secured  a  legal  title  ;  a  portion  also  was  still  held  by  the 
Cherokees,  and  the  settlers,  holding  these  last  only  by 
right  of  occupancy,  were  fearful  of  future  disturbances. 
Having  their  welfare  in  mind,  Sevier  soon  addressed  the 
following  message  to  the  Legislature : 

*'Mr.  Speaker  and  Gentlemen  of  the  Legislature: 

*' Permit  me  to  remark  to  your  honorable  body  that, 
as  our  Senators  are  about  to  proceed  to  the  Federal  Legis- 
lature, it  mav  not  be  inexpedient  to  remind  them  of  the 
necessity  of  taking  under  consideration  the  embarrassed 
situation  which  claimants  are  under  to  lands  south  of  the 
line  concluded  on  in  the  treaty  of  Holston,  and  now 
within  the  Indian  boundary. 

'an  my  humble  opinion,  it  is  a  matter  of  great  pub- 
lic importance,  and  particularly  interesting  to  the  State 
and  to  individuals,  to  either  have  the  Indian  claims 
extinguished,  or  the  adventurers  compensated  for  their 

lands. 

^a  have  no  doubt  you  will  take  the  premises  under 
due  deliberation,  and  give  your  Senators  such  instruc- 
tions  as  you,  in  your  wisdom,  may  deem  necessary  and 
advisable.  J^^^  S^^^^^''' 


278  JOHN  SEVIER. 

On  the  eve  of  the  adjournment  of  this  first  Legisla- 
ture the  Governor  also  brought  to  its  attention  the  condi- 
tion of  the  frontier,  advising  friendship  with  the  Indians 
as  the  best  defense  and  security  of  the  settlers.  He  also 
noticed  the  fact  that  the  soldiers  in  the  late  campaigns 
were  still  unpaid,  and  he  proposed,  with  the  approval  of 
the  Legislature,  "  to  attend  in  person  at  the  next  session 
of  Congress,  to  urge  upon  that  body  payment  to  the 
troops  for  their  hazardous  and  toilsome  services."  To 
this  the  Legislature  replied,  expressing  solicitude  that 
Congress  should  not  only  provide  for  the  defense  of  the 
frontier,  but  should  also  make  full  compensation  to  the 
troops  heretofore  employed  in  that  service.  But  it  dis- 
suaded the  Governor  against  attending  upon  Congress  in 
person,  and  suggested  that  he  should  delegate  the'  duty 
to  the  members  of  Congress  from  Tennessee. 

Soon  thereafter  Tennessee  was  formally  admitted  by 
Congress  as  a  State  of  the  Union,  and,  in  communicating 
this  fact  to  the  Legislature,  Sevier  said,  "I  have  the 
pleasure  of  announcing  to  you,  gentlemen,  the  admis- 
sion of  the  State  of  Tennessee  into  the  Federal  Union,  a 
circumstance  pregnant  with  every  prospect  of  peace, 
happiness,  and  opulence  to  our  infant  State. 

"  The  period  has  at  length  arrived  when  the  people 
of  the  Southwestern  Territory  may  enjoy  all  the  bless- 
ings and  liberties  of  a  free  and  independent  repub- 
lic." 

To  this  end  this  man  and  these  people  had  labored 
and  struggled  for  twelve  years,  and  it  was  but  natural 


THE  NEW   COMMONWEALTH.  279 

that  they  should  now  felicitate  themselves  upon  having 
at  last  achieved  the  right  of  self-government. 

Ke-elected  Governor  in  1798,  Sevier  soon  found  his 
peace  policy  subjected  to  a  severe  strain  in  consequence 
of  the  encroachments  of  settlers  upon  the  Cherokee  lands 
west  of  the  Clinch,  and  in  the  beautiful  valley  along 
Powell's  River.  Two  companies  of  United  States  troops 
had  been  stationed  at  Knoxville  for  the  purpose  of  pre- 
venting further  encroachments,  and  the  commander  of 
these  troops  had  issued  a  manifesto  ordering  all  tres- 
passers off  the  Indian  lands.  Many  of  the  settlers  had 
obeyed  the  order,  and  fallen  back  from  the  lands  which 
had  been  conveyed  to  them  by  North  Carolina  ;  but  the 
larger  number  had  held  their  ground,  and  defied  the 
United  States  soldiers  to  attempt  their  removal.  Be- 
tween Knoxville  and  Nashville  and  west  of  Clinch  Eiver 
stretched  a  wilderness  several  hundred  miles  in  extent ; 
and  a  large  portion  of  this  territory  had  been  granted 
to  her  soldiers  by  North  Carolina,  though  not  one  acre 
of  it  had  been  ceded  by  the  Cherokees  in  any  of  their 
many  treaties  with  either  the  State  or  the  United  States. 

The  disorder  of  the  situation  is  graphically  described 
by  a  young  Englishman  who  journeyed  over  this  wilder- 
ness in  the  summer  of  1797.  He  was  the  Francis  Baily 
who  afterward  rose  to  eminence  as  an  astronomer,  and 
became  the  founder  and  President  of  the  Royal  Astro- 
nomical Society.  After  detailing  the  incidents  of  his 
trip  through  tlie  forest  from  Nashville,  he  says  : 

'^  It  will  be  observed,  by  an  inspection  of  the  map. 


280  JOHN  SEYIER. 

that,  from  the  time  we  took  the  Cumberland  Mountains 
to  this  place,  we  haye  been  traveling  within  the  Indian 
country.  The  Indians  keep  their  tract  of  land  in  full 
sovereignty,  and  have  not  yet  parted  with  their  title  to  it 
to  the  United  States.  But,  soon  after  we  leave  the  banks 
of  the  Clinch  Eiver,  we  get  once  more  within  the  limits 
of  the  State  of  Tennessee.  After  refreshing  ourselves  at 
the  ferry,  we  continued  our  journey,  intending  to  reach 
this  evening  an  encampment  of  men,  women,  and  chil- 
dren, which  was  formed  between  this  place  and  Knox- 
ville. 

^*  These  people  were  waiting  to  set  out  to  settle  some 
lands  on  the  Tennessee  River,  but  (as  there  lately  had 
been  a  dispute  with  the  Indians  with  respect  to  the  run- 
ning the  line  which  divided  their  territory  from  the 
United  States)  they  thought  it  best  to  wait  the  issue  of 
the  negotiation  which  was  pending.  The  limits  of  the 
Indian  territory  had  been  fixed  by  the  treaty  of  Holston  ; 
but,  it  being  some  years  after  ere  the  line  was  actually 
run,  they  found  (when  they  came  to  survey  that  part  of 
the  country)  that  a  number  of  inhabitants  had  en- 
croached and  settled  on  the  Indian  territory.  This  was 
not  at  all  to  be  wondered  at,  as  it  is  almost  impossible  to 
know  where  a  line  (drawn  only  upon  paper)  will  actually 
strike  when  it  comes  to  be  measured.  As  the  United 
States  (agreeably  to  the  policy  which  they  have  uni- 
versally adopted)  were  determined  that  the  Indians 
should  have  no  just  cause  of  complaint,  they  ordered  all 
the  families  which  had  so  encroached  to  remove  within 


TUE   NEW   COMMONWE.U.TH.  281 

the  limits  of  the  United  States,  and  the  President  actu- 
ally  sent  a  detachment  of  the  army  into  the  country  to 
enforce  his  commands. 

^'This  was  the  bone  of   contention  which  was  the 
subject  of  conversation  in  every  place  I  went  into.     The 
inhabitants   firmly  opposed  being  removed  from  their 
settlements,  and  they  were  supported  in  their  opposi- 
tion by  the  encouragement  of  those  who  were  within  the 
limits  of  the  United  States,  as  they  all  hate  the  Indians, 
and  think  a  little  deviation  from  justice  is  a  thing  to  be 
overlooked  where   their   two  interests  clash  with  each 
other.     So  far  docs  prejudice  carry  us  !    And  I  believe 
the    inhabitants  were    prepared    to    defend    themselves 
against  the  soldiery  with  the  point  of  the  sword.     Hap- 
pily, things  did  not  come  to  these  extremities,  for  it  was 
discovered  that  the  line  which  had  been  drawn  by  the 
surveyors  was  not  agreeable  to  the  treaty ;  that,  if  it  had 
been  drawn  right,  it  would  not  have  cut  off  any  of  the 
inhabitants  of  the  State  within  the  Indian  limits.     Ac- 
cordinglv,  a  representation  of  this  case  was  made  to  the 
GcneraV  Assembly  at  KnoxviUe,  who  forwarded  a  re- 
monstrance to  the  President  of  the  United  States ;  and, 
at  the  same  time,  formed  a  number  of  resolutions  indica- 
tive of  their  determination  not  to  suffer  the  inhabitants 
to  be  turned  out  of  their  possession.     Such  was  the  state 
of  the  country  when  I  was  in  it. 

^^We  reached  the  encampment  about  sunset,  and, 
having  kindled  a  fire  among  them  and  turned  our 
horses  into  the  woods  to  search  for  pasture,  went  round 


282  JOH]^  SEVIEPw. 

to  visit  the  different  parties  we  saw  there.  They  were 
scattered  oyer  a  rising  ground,  near  which  were  some 
fine  springs  of  water.  They  seemed  to  lament  their  situ- 
ation, in  being  depriyed  of  going  to  settle  the  land  which 
they  had  justly  and  fairly  bought,  and  were  so  worked 
up  by  the  apparent  hardness  of  their  case  that,  had 
things  taken  a  contrary  turn,  I  believe  they  would 
have  forced  their  way  by  the  point  of  the  bayo- 
net.''* 

Congress  had  passed  an  act  imposing  fines  and  for- 
feitures upon  all  who  should  attempt  to  take  possession 
of  any  lands  within  the  Indian  boundary,  and  against 
this  act  the  Legislature,  at  the  instance  of  Sevier,  had 
protested  as  follows:  '^This  Legislature,  ever  willing 
to  support  the  Constitution  and  laws  of  the  United 
States,  being  impressed  with  a  sense  of  the  injury  and 
grievances  sustained  by  the  citizens  in  consequence  of 
the  line  of  the  treaty  of  Holston,  and  the  act  before 
mentioned,  do  earnestly  request  that  the  prohibitions 
preventing  them  to  possess  the  lands  before  alluded  to 
may  be  removed ;  that  provision  by  law  be  made  for 
extinguishing  the  Indian  claim  to  said  lands ;  that  the 
owners  and  grantees  of  said  lands  may  enter  upon,  oc- 
cupy, and  possess  the  same  in  a  full  and  ample  man- 
ner, and  have  every  right,  privilege,  and  advantage, 
which  they  are  entitled  to  by  constitutional  laws." 

*  "  Journal  of  a  Tour  in  the  Unsettled  Parts  of  the  United  States  of 
North  America  in  1796  and  lYg^."  By  the  late  Francis  Daily,  F.  E.  S., 
President  of  the  Royal  Astronomical  Society.     London,  1851. 


THE  NEW  COMMONWEALTH.  283 

As  a  result  of  the  energetic  measures  taken  by  Se- 
vier and  the  Legislature  for  the  relief  of  the  settlers, 
Congress  appointed  commissioners  to  hold  a  treaty  with 
the  Indians  for  the  acquisition  of  the  lands  in  the  dis- 
puted territory.  The  commissioners  did  not  enter  upon 
their  duties  until  the  summer  of  1798,  and  meanwhile 
it  required  all  the  address  of  Sevier  to  prevent  an  out- 
break among  the  impatient  settlers,  who  were  encamped 
in  the  woods  almost  in  sight  of  the  lands  to  which 
they  were  entitled  by  legal  purchase.  Under  date  of 
Knoxville,  April  23,  1798,  he  addressed  to  them  a  cir- 
cular, in  which  he  counseled  against  any  *'rash  and 
imprudent"  proceedings,  predicted  the  early  arrival  of 
the  treaty  commissioners,  and  assured  *'' his  countrymen 
that  nothing  should  be  lacking  that  might  tend  to  their 
present  and  future  advantage." 

The  commissioners  arrived  at  Knoxville  in  the  fol- 
lowing month,  and  arrangements  were  at  once  made 
for  their  meeting  the  Indian  chiefs  early  in  the  succeed- 
ing July,  at  the  Tellico  block-house.  The  treaty-mak- 
ing power  was  vested  solely  in  the  United  States  com- 
missioners ;  but  Sevier  appointed  General  James  Rob- 
ertson, James  Stuart,  and  Lachlan  Mcintosh,  agents  to 
represent  the  State  of  Tennessee.  They  were  to  at- 
tend at  the  treaty  to  look  after  the  interests  of  the  set- 
tlers, and  the  Governor  gave  them  written  instructions 
on  sucli  points  as  he  deemed  of  special  importance. 
These  points  were  : 

1.  *^To   obtain  as  wide  an  extinguishment  of  the 


284  JOHN  SEVIER. 

Cherokee  claim,  north  of  the  Tennessee,  as  was  attain- 
able. 

2.  *'An  unimpeded  communication  of  Holston  and 
Clinch  Eiyers  with  the  Tennessee  ;  and  the  surrender 
of  the  west  bank  of  the  Clinch,  opposite  Southwest 
Point. 

3.  '*To  secure  from  future  molestation  the  settle- 
ments as  far  as  they  have  progressed  on  the  northern 
and  western  borders  of  the  State,  and  the  connection 
of  Hamilton  and  Miro  Districts,  then  separated  by  a 
space  of  unextinguished  hunting-ground,  eighty  miles 
wide. 

4.  *^To  examine  into  the  nature  and  validity  of 
the  claim  recently  set  up  by  the  Cherokees  to  lands 
north  of  the  [Little]  Tennessee  Eiver.  Does  it  rest  up- 
on original  right  ?  Is  it  derived  from  treaties  ?  Is  it 
founded  only  upon  a  temporary  use  and  occupancy  ? " 

The  State  agents  and  the  United  States  commis- 
sioners met  the  Indians  at  the  appointed  time,  and  the 
following  is  the  brief  record  which  the  historian  Hay- 
wood makes  of  the  proceedings  : 

'^The  council  opened.  The  Bloody  Fellow  having 
prefaced  the  subject,  delivered  a  paper  which  he  stated 
to  contain  their  final  resolutions,  which  were  a  peremp- 
tory refusal  to  sell,  and  an  absolute  denial  to  permit 
the  inhabitants  to  return  to  their  homes."  In  other 
words,  all  the  elaborate  prejoarations,  attended  with  great 
expense  and  trouble  to  both  the  State  and  the  United 
States,  were  rendered  nugatory  by  the  obstinacy  of  a 


THE   NEW   COMMONWEALTH.  285 

few  badly  disposed  savages,  who  were  madly  intent  upon 
war  with  the  whites.  Since  the  death  of  Old  Tassel, 
there  had  been  no  generally  acknowledged  king  of  the 
Cherokees.  Double-Head  had  held  dominion  over  the 
northern  portion  of  the  tribe,  John  Watts  over  the 
southern ;  and  without  a  war  the  contending  claims  of 
these  rival  chieftains  could  not  be  decided.  Should  a 
war  with  the  whites  occur,  one  of  them  would  have  a 
chance  to  win  supremacy  over  the  other,  even  if  the 
nation  should  be  defeated ;  therefore  both  were  now  op- 
posed to  any  treaty  whatever.  They  refused  to  negoti- 
ate on  any  terms ;  but  Eobertson,  who  had  more  weight 
with  them  than  any  one  on  the  treaty-ground,  per- 
suaded them  to  meet  the  whites  again  in  the  follow- 
ing September. 

They  did  so  ;  and,  Robertson  not  being  able  to  at- 
tend, Sevier  himself  repaired  to  the  treaty  -  ground. 
He  had  no  sooner  exchanged  greetings  and  a  few  re- 
marks with  the  Cherokee  chieftains  than  they  assent- 
ed to  such  a  treaty  as  was  demanded  by  the  whites. 
The  circumstances  were  unchanged  in  every  particular : 
there  was  the  same  rivalry  between  John  Watts  and 
Double-Head,  and  the  same  conviction  that  a  war  with 
the  whites  would  bring  about  a  settlement  of  their  own 
disputes ;  but  they  no  sooner  came  in  contact  with  Se- 
vier than  they  consented  to  a  treaty  which  ceded  to 
the  whites  the  land  already  settled  upon,  and  a  much 
larger  territory  than  had  been  demanded  in  the  pre- 
vious July.  And  this  cession  was  secured  by  the  pay- 
26 


2S6  JOHN  SEVIER. 

ment  of  only  five  thousand  dollars,  with  the  promise  of 
an  annuity  of  one  thousand. 

The  arguments  resorted  to  by  Sevier  to  bring  the 
Indians  to  a  reasonable  settlement  can  only  be  con- 
jectured. It  is  probable  that  the  language  he  used  to 
them  now  was  much  the  same  he  had  employed  on  pre- 
vious occasions,  when  he  had  told  them  that  no  man, 
or  body  of  men,  had  a  right  to  appropriate  as  mere 
hunting-grounds  vast  tracts  of  the  earth's  surface  ;  that 
the  Great  Spirit  had  designed  the  soil  for  the  men  who 
tilled  it,  and  caused  it  to  yield  its  natural  fruits.  This 
the  white  man  did ;  and  the  Indian  must  resort  to  his 
ways,  or  give  place  to  his  advance.  There  was  no  al- 
ternative. This  continent  was  to  be  overspread  with 
civilization.  It  was  manifest  destiny,  and  whoever 
should  resist  it  would  perish.  He  would  be  glad  to 
live  at  peace  with  the  Cherokees ;  but  peace  or  war 
was  at  their  own  election.  If,  however,  they  chose  war, 
they  should  remember  that,  when  he  struck,  his  blows 
were  heavy,  and  that  he  was  now  at  the  head  of  a  hun- 
dred thousand,  every  man  among  them  deadly  sure  with 
the  rifle. 

The  Cherokees  chose-  peace,  and  never  again,  so  long 
as  Sevier  lived,  did  they  dig  up  the  hatchet.  And,  what 
is  more  remarkable,  from  this  time  forward  this  man, 
whom  they  had  persistently  fought  for  nearly  twenty-five 
years,  became  their  most  trusted  counselor  and  friend. 
In  all  disputes  among  themselves,  they  chose  "  'Chucky 
Jack "  as  their  umpire  ;  and  when  their  rights  were  in- 


THE  NEW   COMMONWEALTH.  287 

vadcd,  or  their  lands  encroached  upon  by  the  settlers — 
which  was  not  seldom — it  was  to  the  ^*  great  eagle  of  the 
pale  faces  "  that  they  turned  for  help  and  protection. 
And  they  never  appealed  to  him  in  vain.  However 
powerful  might  be  their  opponent,  both  they  and  he 
were  sure  to  receive  exact  and  impartial  justice  at  the 
hands  of  the  *'good  old  Governor." 

Up  to  this  period  a  large  part  of  the  people  had  dwelt 
in  rude  fortresses,  termed  stations,  of  which  there  were 
two  or  three  hundred  within  the  limits  of  the  Territory. 
These  stations  were  inclosed  with  palisades,  and  usually 
contained  cabins  enough  to  house  from  fifty  to  two  hun- 
dred people.  This  involved  a  certain  crowding  of  the 
population,  which,  in  the  midst  of  unbounded  space,  was 
submitted  to  only  because  it  was  necessary  to  insure 
safety  from  the  savages.  But,  so  soon  as  the  absolute 
ascendency  of  Sevier  had  secured  permanent  peace  with 
the  Indians,  the  habits  of  the  population,  and  the  entire 
aspect  of  the  country,  underwent  a  sudden  change.  The 
fortified  stations  were  abandoned,  and  here  and  there, 
over  the  whole  country,  went  up  detached  farm-houses, 
nestling  among  wide-spreading  trees,  and  overlooking 
broad,  cultivated  fields,  laden  heavily  with  the  golden 
riches  of  a  coming  harvest.  Towns  and  villages,  too, 
sprang  up  as  if  by  magic,  with  dwellings  no  longer  built  of 
rough  logs,  and  intended  only  for  security,  but  of  painted 
weather-boarding,  with  glazed  windows,  modeled,  it  may 
be,  after  the  wooden  palace  of  Governor  Blount,  which 
was  the  first  framed  dwelling  west  of  the  Alleghanies. 


288  JOHN  SEVIER. 

Thus  it  was  that  the  stockade  gave  place  to  the  neat  and 
well-ordered  Tillage,  in  which  the  mechanic  arts  began  to 
flourish,  school-houses  and  churches  to  go  up,  and  men  to 
cultivate  all  the  amenities  and  refinements  of  civiliza- 
tion. Immigration  continued  to  flow  into  the  country 
in  such  numbers  that  the  census  of  1800  showed  the 
State  to  contain  a  population  of  not  less  than  105,682. 
Thus,  in  the  space  of  little  more  than  twenty-five 
years,  and  in  the  face  of  appalling  difficulties,  had  Sevier 
and  his  compatriots  built  up  a  great  commonwealth  in 
the  heart  of  the  Western  wilderness.  In  the  history  of 
no  other  people  is  there  any  similar  achievement.  It  was 
possible  only  to  men  of  the  Anglo-Saxon  race,  and  to 
them  only  when  given  a  leader  as  wise,  as  heroic,  and 
as  self-devoted  as  John  Sevier. 


CHAPTER  XIII. 

CLOSIIS^G  YEARS. 

I  AM  not  writing  a  history  of  Tennessee.  The  aim  of 
this  yolumc,  and  of  the  one  which  has  preceded  it,  has 
been  to  recount  the  career  of  the  remarkable  man  who 
was  the  founder  and  builder  of  that  Commonwealth ; 
and  I  have  related  the  early  history  of  the  State  only  for 
the  reason  that  his  life  was  so  interwoven  with  its  early 
life  that  one  can  not  be  told  without  relating  the  other. 
The  same  remark  applies  to  Sevier's  subsequent  career, 
for  to  the  very  last  he  was  the  soul  of  the  Commonwealth 
he  had  created. 

But  we  have  now  arrived  at  a  period  in  his  life,  and 
in  that  of  the  State,  when  to  both  may  be  applied  the 
saying,  '^Ilappy  are  the  people  whose  annals  are  va- 
cant." To  this  man,  whose  career  had  been  until  now 
one  long  struggle,  and  to  this  State,  which  was  cradled 
in  the  midst  of  perils,  nurtured  amid  external  and  inter- 
nal strife,  and  time  and  again  had  been  saved  from  de- 
struction only  by  the  single  hand  and  brain  of  this  one 
man,  had  come  a  season  of  repose — an  unbroken  period 
of  peace  and  prosperity,  barren  of  incident,  and  unruffled 


290  JOHN  SEVIER. 

by  a  single  one  of  those  striking  events  which  form  the 
staple  of  most  histories.  To  the  State  it  was  peace,  and 
such  prosperity  as  was  then  unknown  to  any  of  the  six- 
teen States,  except  the  neighboring  one  of  Kentucky; 
and  to  Sevier  it  was  peace  and  such  abounding  honor, 
both  at  home  and  abroad,  as  was  accorded  to  but  few  of 
the  men  of  his  generation.  We  have  seen  that,  when  but 
recently  an  outlaw,  he  was  given  by  Washington  sole 
command  of  the  men  of  Watauga ;  so  now,  in  1798,  on 
the  recommendation  of  Washington,  he  was  appointed  by 
President  Adams  a  brigadier-general  in  the  army  that 
was  forming  to  resist  the  arrogant  encroachments  of 
France.  But  the  war-cloud  passed  away,  and  left  Sevier 
sitting  in  peace  "under  his  own  vine  and  fig-tree." 
With  a  passing  glance  at  him  there,  I  v>^ill  close  this  im- 
perfect record  of  his  life,  which  has  been  written  in  the 
hope  that  it  may  recall  to  his  countrymen  the  great 
services  he  rendered  to  American  freedom  and  Western 
civilization. 

At  the  close  of  Sevier's  second  term  he  was  again 
unanimously  elected  Governor,  and  then,  having  served 
six  consecutive  years,  he  was,  by  the  Constitution  he  had 
helped  to  frame,  not  again  eligible  for  the  position  till 
the  expiration  of  two  years.  During  this  interval  the 
office  was  filled  by  Archibald  Roane  ;  but  at  its  close  the 
people  again  put  Sevier  in  nomination,  and  he  was  again 
elected  without  an  opposing  candidate.  Two  more  unan- 
imous elections  succeeded,  he  serving  another  consecu- 
tive six  years ;  and  then,  feeling  old  age  coming  upon 


CLOSING  YEARS.  291 

him,  he  declined  any  further  nominations  for  the  office. 
But  the  people  would  not  dispense  with  his  services. 
Thcj  at  once  elected  him  to  Congress,  and  they  kept  him 
there  by  three  successive  elections,  of  the  last  of  which 
he  probably  never  heard,  for  it  occurred  while  he  was 
away  in  the  Creek  country,  where  he  died  at  the  age 
of  seventy  years,  having  been  for  fifty-two  years — since 
he  was  a  boy  of  eighteen — in  the  active  service  of  his 
country. 

During  all  of  this  long  period  Sevier  was  a  leader  of 
men,  and  a  prime  mover  in  the  important  events  which 
occurred  beyond  the  Alleghanies.  For  thirty  years  of 
this  time  he  was  engaged  in  almost  constant  warfare  ;  and, 
though  his  men  were  altogether  volunteers,  and  he,  until 
after  the  battle  of  King's  Mountain,  commanded  without 
a  commission,  and  merely  as  an  elected  leader,  there  never 
was  known  so  much  as  a  whisper  of  insubordination 
among  them.  Without  fear  or  question  they  followed 
wherever  he  led,  even  upon  the  most  desperate  expedi- 
tions ;  and  the  wave  of  his  sword,  the  sound  of  his  voice, 
was  enough  to  transform  the  most  timid  among  them 
into  heroes. 

And  the  sway  of  Sevier  was  as  potent  and  undisputed 
in  civil  as  in  military  affairs.  Aided  by  Xorth  Carolina, 
a  few  factious  and  ambitious  men  had  attempted  for  a 
time  to  undermine  his  authority,  but  their  efforts  were  fu- 
tile ;  and,  from  the  moment  of  his  reconciliation  to  the 
"mother-State,"  all  opposition  to  him  ceased,  and,  no  mat- 
ter what  official  position  he  held,  ever  afterward  he  was 


292  JOHN  SEVIER. 

the  autocrat  of  the  backwoods.  The  Governors  who  suc- 
ceeded him  had  only  a  nominal  authority.  So  long  as  he 
lived,  he  was  the  real  seat  of  power.  On  all  questions  of 
importance,  the  people  asked,  ^^  What  says  the  good  old 
Governor  ? "  They  might  differ  from  him  in  opinion, 
but  when  they  did  they  questioned  their  own  judgments, 
and  submitted  cheerfully  to  his  decisions.  This  they  did 
because  experience  had  shown  that  he  was  always  right. 
The  same  genius  which  governed  his  military  operations, 
and  made  victory  a  foregone  conclusion,  enabled  him  to 
forecast  civil  results,  and  to  lead  his  people  on  by  peace- 
ful ways  to  prosperity  and  greatness. 

A  rule  like  his  was  never  before  or  since  known  in 
this  country.  It  was  made  possible  only  by  the  peculiar 
genius  of  Sevier,  and  the  primitive  character  of  the  peo- 
ple he  governed.  Untrained  in  the  military  art  and  ig- 
norant of  governmental  science,  they  were  building  up 
a  great  empire.  This  they  knew,  and  naturally  they 
looked  to  the  man  who  had  the  ability  to  shield  them 
from  danger  and  to  guide  them  on  the  road  to  permanent 
peace  and  prosperity.  And  it  is  Sevier's  peculiar  glory 
that  he  did  this  without  any  thought  of  self — never  once 
looking  to  his  own  profit,  or  fame,  or  honor.  It  is  said  : 
*' Whosoever  would  become  great  among  you  shall  be 
your  minister ;  and  whosoever  would  be  first  among  you 
shall  be  your  bond-servant."  Of  this  nature  was  Sevier's 
greatness — dwarfed  by  no  selfish  ends,  and  inspired  and 
nourished  wholly  by  a  single  regard  for  the  good  of 
his  fellow-men.      This  accounts  for  the  fact  that  the 


CLOSING  YEARS.  293 

trans-Allegliaiiy  people  were  welded  by  him,  as  it  were, 
into  one  individual,  with  but  one  heart,  one  mind,  and 
one  purpose  ;  and  these  all  centered  in  one  great  brain 
and  heart,  which  was  the  moving  force  of  the  whole. 
They  were  the  body,  he  was  the  soul ;  and,  had  it  not 
been  so,  Western  civilization  might  have  had  a  different 
fate  in  the  eighteenth  century. 

A  little  incident  will  illustrate   Sevier's  wonderful 
popularity,  and  show  how,  in  the  remotest  cabins,  par- 
ents spoke  of  him  to  their  children  with  such  unbounded 
affection  and  admiration  that  the  little  ones  came  to  re- 
gard him  as  some  superior  being— a  sort  of  demi-god, 
entitled  to  their  unquestioning  allegiance.      I  had  the 
anecdote  from  a  gentleman  of  Knoxville,*  who  long  ago 
was  told  it  by  the  old  man  who  had  been  a  party  to  the 
occurrence.     The  aged  countryman  first  saw  Sevier  when 
he  was  a  lad  of  some  six  or  seven  years,  but  he  had  heard 
much  of  him  from  his  very  infancy,  and  his  young  im- 
agination had  magnified  him  into  a  sort  of  heroic  demi- 
god.    One  Sunday,  when  all  the  settlement  had  gathered 
for  religious  services  in  the  cross-roads  meeting-house, 
a  hatless  man  rushed  into  the  sacred  building,  shouting 
that  Nolichucky  Jack  was  coming  up  the  road  on  his 
way  to  Virginia.     At  once  the  Sunday  services  were  sus- 
pended, and  every  one  turned  out-even  the  minister. 
They  found  the  road  lined  with  men  and  women,  for  the 
news  had  spread  far  and  wide,  and  all  had  come  together 


*  Hon.  William  A.  Henderson. 


294  JOHK  SEVIER. 

to  welcome  the  idol  of  the  people.  Soou  Sevier  came  in 
sight,  walking  his  horse,  and  followed  by  a  cavalcade  of 
gentlemen.  Nobody  cheered  or  shouted,  but  all  pressed 
about  him  to  get  a  look,  a  smile,  a  kindly  word,  or  a  nod 
of  recognition  from  their  beloved  Governor.  And  these 
he  had  for  all,  and  all  of  them  he  called  by  name  ;  and 
this,  it  is  said,  he  could  do  to  every  man  and  woman  in 
the  State,  when  they  numbered  more  than  a  hundred 
thousand.  The  boy's  father  had  been  a  soldier  under 
Sevier,  and  when  the  Governor  came  abreast  of  him  he 
halted  his  horse,  and  took  the  man  and  his  wife  by  the 
hand.  Then  reaching  down,  and  placing  his  hand  on 
the  boy's  head,  he  said  :  "And  who  have  we  here  ?  This 
is  a  little  fellow  I  have  not  seen."  That  he  was  noticed 
by  so  great  a  man  made  the  boy  inexpressibly  proud  and 
happy ;  but  could  this  affable,  unassuming  gentleman  be 
the  demi-god  of  his  young  imagination  ?  This  was  the 
thought  that  came  to  the  boy,  and  he  turned  to  his 
father,  saying,  "Why,  father,  'Chucky  Jack  is  only  a 
man  ! "  But  that  was  the  wonder  of  the  thing — how, 
being  only  a  man,  he  had  managed  to  capture  the  hearts 
of  a  whole  people. 

The  deyotion  of  the  men  of  the  border  to  Seyier  is 
without  any  parallel  in  American  history.  Ills  will  was 
literally  their  law,  but  it  was  law  regulated  by  a  kind- 
ness which  sprang  from  a  great,  loving  soul.  This  all 
men  knew  and  respected ;  and  I  think  it  may  be  said 
that  they  refrained  from  strife,  and  violence,  and  crime, 
less  because  it  would  subject  them  to  punishment,  than 


CLOSING  YEARS.  295 

because  of  the  pain  their  misdoings  would  inflict  upon 
the  heart  of  the  ''good  old  Governor."     Though,  as  a 
class,  impatient  of  restraint,  and  of  somewhat  reckless 
characteristics,  crime  was  almost  unknown  among  them. 
For  years  there  was  no  State's  prison  in  the  State,  and 
the  jail  at  Knoxyille— fourteen  feet  square— was  seldom 
alllicted  with  a  tenant.     There  were  courts,  and  judges, 
and  juries  ;  but  Sevier  was  the  court  of  last  resort— the 
supreme  judge,  the  final  jury.    Was  any  one-white  man 
or  red— aggrieved,  he  complained  to  the  Governor ;  did 
two  men  differ,  they  submitted  their  controversy  to  him  ; 
were  some  of  his  old  comrades  in  poverty  or  distress,  they 
appealed  to  their  old  commander,  and  he  always  found 
some  way  to  give  them  relief  and  assistance,  though  he 
had  impoverished  himself  in  defending  his  country,  and 
was  in  his  old  age  reduced  to  a  meager  pittance  of  a 
thousand  dollars  a  year. 

But  it  must  not  be  inferred  from  this  that  society  be- 
yond the  mountains  had  reached  that  happy  condition 
wherein  men  have  only  minor  differences,  easily  settled 
by  arbitration,  and  that  courts  of  law  had  become  en- 
tirely obsolete.  The  men  of  the  backwoods  had  not  alto- 
gether given  over  backbiting  and  bickering,  torn  down 
their  log  temples  of  justice,  and  unanimously  agreed  to 
submit  °all  disputes  to  the  decision  of  one  man,  whose 
clear  brain  would  rightly  estimate  and  impartially  weigh 
both  sides,  and  whose  great  heart  would  infallibly  temper 
justice  with  the  gentle  dews  of  mercy.  It  was  not  so. 
It  has  not  anywhere  in  this  world  been  so  since  Adam 


296  JOHN  SEVIER. 

migrated  from  Eden,  and  Cain  committed  the  first  crime 
of  which  there  is  historical  record  ;  and  it  will  not  be  so 
for  the  next  fifty  thousand  years,  if  the  laws  of  heredity 
hold  good,  and  universal  man  does  not  imbibe  the  spirit 
of  the  loving  Christ,  who  came  to  earth  to  tell  us  that  love 
is  the  grand  motive  power  of  the  universe.  Ever  since 
man  first  transgressed  the  law,  there  have  been  legal  tri- 
bunals, and  they  were  to  be  found  among  these  primitive 
people.  But  the  courts  sat  only  twice  a  year,  and  often 
their  sessions  were  of  not  more  than  a  week's  duration. 
Their  dockets  were  lean,  and  their  rough  benches  de- 
serted, because  of  the  loving  influence  of  one  man,  whose 
brotherly  kindness  had  permeated  the  whole  community. 
There  were  but  seven  lawyers  in  the  entire  Territory 
when  it  numbered  nearly  one  hundred  thousand  people, 
and  even  they  had  caught  some  of  Sevier's  spirit,  if  the 
manifesto  of  one  of  them  is  any  indication  of  the  princi- 
ples of  the  rest  of  the  fraternity.  I  find  this  manifesto 
in  the  advertising  columns  of  the  '^Knoxville  Gazette," 
of  April  6,  1793,  and  it  deserves  preservation.  It  is 
headed — 

•    'TlAT  JUSTITIA." 

And  it  goes  on  to  say :  "Having  adopted  the  above 
motto,  as  early  as  I  had  the  honor  of  admission  to  the 
bar,  I  have  covenanted  with  myself  that  I  will  never 
knowingly  depart  from  it ;  and  on  this  foundation  I 
have  built  a  few  maxims  which  afford  my  reflection  an 
unspeakable  satisfaction  : 


CLOSING  YEARS.  297 

"I.  I  will  practice  law,  because  it  offers  me  oppor- 
tunities of  being  a  more  useful  member  of  society. 

^*II.  I  will  turn  a  deaf  ear  to  no  man  because  his 
purse  is  empty. 

"III.  I  will  advise  no  man  beyond  my  comprehen- 
sion of  his  cause. 

**IV.  I  will  lead  none  into  law  whom  my  conscience 
tells  me  should  be  kept  out  of  it. 

"V.  I  will  never  be  unmindful  of  the  cause  of  hu- 
manity, and  this  comprehends  the  fatherless  and  widow, 
and  those  who  are  in  bondage. 

"VI.  I  will  be  faithful  to  my  client,  but  never  so 
unfaithful  to  myself  as  to  become  a  party  to  his  crime. 

"VII.  In  criminal  cases  I  will  not  underrate  my  own 
abilities ;  for,  if  my  client  proves  a  rascal,  his  money  is 
better  in  my  hands,  and,  if  not,  I  hold  the  option. 

"  VIII.  I  will  never  acknowledge  the  omnipotence  of 
legislation,  nor  consider  its  acts  to  be  law  when  against 
the  spirit  of  the  Constitution. 

"IX.  No  man's  greatness  shall  elevate  him  above  the 
justice  due  to  my  client. 

"  X.  I  will  not  consent  to  a  compromise  when  I  con- 
ceive a  verdict  essential  to  my  client's  future  reputation  or 
protection ;  for  of  this  he  can  not  be  a  competent  judge. 

"XI.  I  will  advise  the  turbulent  with  candor,  and,  if 
they  persist  in  going  to  law  against  my  advice,  they  must 
pardon  me  for  volunteering  it  against  them. 

"XII.  I  will  acknowledge  every  man's  right  to  man- 
age his  own  case  if  he  pleases.  ^.    „^,,._ 

27  ^■'  •■•     'A 


V                     .^^ 

ii:ij  :.■: 

a  ;a.s\:ii. 

.ev 

298  JOHN  SEVIER. 

'*  The  above  are  my  rules  of  practice,  and  though  I 
will  not  at  this  critical  juncture  promise  to  finish  my 
business  in  person,  I  will,  if  the  public  service  should  re- 
quire my  removal  hence,  do  everything  in  my  power  for 
those  who  like  them ;  and  endeavor  to  leave  them  in 
proper  hands  if  I  should  be  absent. 

''William  Tatham. 

''Knoxville,  March  2S,  1793:' 

Sevier's  justice  knew  neither  rich  nor  poor,  but  his 
heart  beat  the  warmest  and  his  hand  was  the  most  open 
to  those  who  had  fallen  by  the  way  in  the  struggle  of 
life,  or  had  most  severely  felt  the  rough  buffetings  of 
poverty.  So  long  as  he  had  wealth  it  flowed  out  to  such 
in  abounding  measure,  and  when  he  could  no  longer  give 
of  his  substance  he  gave  them  himself — in  his  influence, 
his  provident  care,  his  never-ceasing  effort  to  ameliorate 
their  condition.  Government,  he  said,  should  be  the 
guardian  of  the  poor,  the  widow,  and  the  fatherless  ;  and 
there  is  not  one  of  his  messages  to  the  Legislature,  that 
escaped  the  ravages  of  the  Vandal  fire  which  consumed 
Dr.  Eamsey's  dwelling  during  the  Union  occupation  of 
Knoxville,  which  does  not  have  some  reference  to  the 
needs  or  make  some  suggestion  for  the  benefit  of  the 
"less  fortunate  of  our  fellow-citizens,"  whom  he  recom- 
mends to  their  ''paternal  care  and  wisdom."  One  of 
these  messages  is  now  before  me,  and  it  so  fully  reveals 
the  man,  and  clearly  sketches  the  condition  of  the  young 
Commonwealth,  that  I  copy  the  entire  document.     It  is 


CLOSING  YEARS.  299 

dated  September  19,  1799,  and,  according  to  the  custom 
of  the  time,  was  dcliyered  in  person  to  the  assembled 
Senators  and  Representatives,  who  subsequently  respond- 
ed to  it  through  the  Speakers  of  the  two  Houses.  The 
message  was  as  follows  : 

**  J/r.  Speaker,  and  Gentlemen  oj  the  Senate  and  of  the 
House  of  Representatives : 

**It  is  with  peculiar  satisfaction  that  I  have  the 
honor  this  day  of  meeting  your  august  body  in  this 
house,  where  I  have  the  pleasure  of  informing  you  that 
the  State  is  blessed  with  peace  and  quietude — the  fields 
of  the  husbandman  abundantly  supplied  with  the  fruits 
of  the  earth,  our  harvests  yielding  to  the  laborer  ample 
satisfaction  for  his  toils. 

''The  laws  and  regular  decorum,  so  far  as  comes 
within  my  knowledge,  are  duly  observed  and  supported 
throughout  the  government.  Emigration  and  popula- 
tion are  daily  increasing,  and  I  have  no  doubt  that— 
under  the  propitious  hand  of  Providence,  your  patron- 
age, and  the  wise  and  wholesome  laws  which  you  in  your 
wisdom  may  enact — our  State  will  become  more  and 
more  respectable  and  conspicuous,  and  that  its  citizens 
will  enjoy  all  the  happiness  and  comfort  this  human  life, 
in  an  ordinary  course,  can  afford  them. 

**  The  poor  and  the  distressed  claim  the  first  share  of 
your  deliberations,  and  I  have  not  the  smallest  doubt 
your  attention  will  be  duly  directed  to  them,  and  to 
every  other  object  worthy  of  legislative  consideration. 


300  JOHN  SEVIER. 

Among  other  things,  gentlemen,  permit  me  again  to  re- 
mind you  that  the  landed  estates  of  your  constituents,  in 
general,  appear  to  be  verging  on  to  a  very  precarious  and 
doubtful  situation,  and  should  a  timely  interference  be 
neglected  it  may  become  a  subject  of  very  great  regret. 
I,  therefore,  beg  leave  to  recommend  that,  so  far  as  it 
may  be  consistent  with  the  cession  act  and  good  public 
faith,  you  provide,  in  the  most  ample  manner,  for  the 
security  and  peaceful  enjoyment  of  all  such  property  as 
may  appear  to  be  in  jeopardy. 

*^I  now  proceed  to  enjoin  on  you  the  great  necessity 
of  promoting  and  encouraging  manufactories,  and  estab- 
lishing warehouses  and  inspections  of  various  kinds. 
These  will  give  a  spring  to  industry,  and  enable  the  agri- 
cultural part  of  the  community  to  export  and  dispose  of 
all  the  surplus  part  of  their  bulky  and  heavy  articles. 
Providence  has  blessed  this  State  with  a  soil  peculiarly 
calculated  for  the  production  of  wheat,  hemp,  flax,  cot- 
ton, tobacco,  and  indigo  ;  it  abounds  with  ores  and  min- 
erals, and  has  navigable  rivers  amply  sufficient  to  enable 
us  to  export  to  the  best  of  markets.  This  being  the 
case,  gentlemen,  you  will  readily  conceive  how  essentially 
necessary  it  is  for  the  encouraging  and  promoting  of  all 
the  advantages  enumerated,  that  you  lend  to  them  your 
early  legislative  aid  and  patronage. 

'^Gentlemen  of  the  Senate  and  House  of  Eei^resenta- 
tives,  I  am  deeply  and  sensibly  impressed  with  the  honor 
conferred  on  me  by  my  fellow-citizens,  in  electing  me  for 
a  third  time  to  preside  as  the  Chief  Magistrate  of  the 


CLOSING  YEARS.  301 

State.  I  earnestly  wish  I  possessed  greater  abilities  and 
talents  to  enable  me  to  discharge  the  important  duties, 
trust,  and  confidence  they  have  reposed  in  me  ;  but  rest 
assured  that,  so  far  as  I  am  able,  nothing  will  be  lacking 
or  neglected  by  me  that  may  tend  toward  the  interest, 
welfare,  and  safety  of  the  State.  Before  I  close  this  ad- 
dress, I  can  not  forbear  requesting  a  harmony  of  meas- 
ures in  your  councils,  and  that  you  unite  in  endeavoring 
to  promote  our  dearest  rights  and  interests.  I  have  the 
fullest  hope  that  by  your  wisdom  and  policy  you  will 
secure  to  our  country  the  advantages  and  respect  to 
which  it  is  entitled,  and  has  a  right  to  enjoy. 

"  (Signed)  John"  Sevier." 

To  this  address  the  House  and  Senate  replied,  through 
their  Speakers,  as  follows  ; 

"  To  Ms  Excellency  John  Sevier,  Governor  of  the  State 
of  Tennessee, 
"  Sir  :  It  is  with  peculiar  satisfaction  that  the  Senate 
and  House  of  Representatives  have  received  your  commu- 
nication, announcing  to  them  that  our  State  is  crowned 
with  the  blessings  of  peace  and  quietude  ;  that  the  toils 
of  the  husbandman  are  amply  rewarded  with  abundant 
crops  ;  that  the  laws  throughout  the  State  are  well  and 
duly  executed  ;  and  that  emigration  and  population  are 
daily  increasing.  And  we  beg  leave  now  to  assure  you 
that,  under  the  directing  hand  of  the  all-seeing  Provi- 
dence, nothing  on  our  part  shall  be  wanting  to  increase 


302  JOHN  SEVIER. 

the  respectability  of  our  rising  State,  and  promote  the 
welfare  and  happiness  of  our  constituents. 

"Keceiye,  sir,  our  assurance  that  the  matters  and 
things  contained  in  your  address,  and  recommended  to 
us  as  subjects  of  legislation,  shall  meet  with  that  investi- 
gation and  deliberation  which  the  importance  of  the  dif- 
ferent subjects  requires. 

''We  beg  leave,  sir,  to  express  our  gratification  at 
being  the  witness  of  your  being  once  more  called,  by  the 
unanimous  suffrage  of  the  freemen  of  Tennessee,  to  the 
seat  of  Chief  Magistrate  of  the  State,  and  to  express 
our  public  confidence  that  you  will  continue  to  execute 
the  duties  which  appertain  to  your  office  with  that  firm- 
ness, judgment,  and  impartiality  which  have  heretofore 
characterized  you  as  the  Chief  Magistrate  of  Tennessee." 

On  the  last  day  of  the  previous  session  of  the  Legis- 
lature, it  made  to  Sevier  an  address,  which  is  notable 
from  its  having  been  signed  by  William  Blount,  the 
former  Governor  of  the  Territory,  and  then  Speaker  of 
the  Senate,  and  by  James  Stuart,  the  aforetime  adherent 
of  Tipton,  and  enemy  of  Sevier,  who  was  Speaker  of  the 
House  of  Representatives.  Of  John  Tipton  himself  all 
trace  from  this  time  (1798)  disappears.  Whether  he  had 
died,  or  had  retired,  like  Cincinnatus,  to  his  farm,  I  have 
not  been  able  to  discover.     The  address  was  as  follows  : 

'*  To  JoHK  Sevier,  Governor  of  the  State  of  Tennessee : 
**The  communications  you  have  thought  proper  to 


CLOSING  YEARS.  303 

make  to  both  Houses  of  the  General  Assembly,  at  the 
commencement  and  during  the  present  session,  afford 
additional  proof  of  the  care  which  hath  always  marked 
your  official  character  since  the  first  appointment  to  your 
present  station. 

'*In  the  course  of  the  present  session  the  Legislature 
hath  taken  into  consideration  the  subject  of  your  several 
communications,  and  acted  upon  the  same  consistent 
with  the  exigency. 

''  The  General  Assembly,  having  finished  the  business 
before  them,  propose  to  adjourn  this  evening,  without 
day." 

These  addresses  exhibit  the  regard  in  which  the 
*'good  old  Governor"  was  held  by  the  Tennessee  Legis- 
lature. The  trust  and  confidence  of  the  people  in  him 
was  shown  by  their  six  times  choosing  him  unanimously 
their  Governor,  and  by  their  subsequently  electing  him 
with  the  same  unanimity,  on  three  successive  occasions, 
to  the  Congress  of  the  United  States.  Such  repeated 
and  unanimous  expressions  of  trust,  esteem,  and  affection 
have  never  been  accorded  to  any  other  public  man  in  this 
country. 

But  this  man,  so  universally  beloved,  was  not  without 
his  enemies,  and  one  of  these  was  no  less  a  personage 
than  Andrew  Jackson,  subsequently  President  of  the 
United  States,  but  who  at  this  time  had  achieved  no 
particular  distinction.  Since  1788  Jackson  had  been  in 
the  practice  of   the  law  in   Robertson's  colony  on  the 


304  JOHN"  SEVIER. 

Cumberland,  and,  obserying  bis  energy  and  fearless  prose- 
cution of  offenders,  and  perhaps  thinking  well  of  his  legal 
ability,  Sevier,  in  1798,  appointed  him  a  Judge  of  the 
Superior  Court  of  Law  and  Equity  of  the  newly  formed 
State.  Their  subsequent  relations  seem  to  have  been 
friendly  until  1803,  when  the  position  of  major-general 
in  the  Tennessee  militia  was  about  to  become  vacant,  and 
Jackson  made  application  for  the  appointment.  The 
office  was  an  important  one,  inasmuch  as,  under  the 
Governor,  the  major-general  had  control  of  the  entire 
military  force  of  the  State. 

To  make  sure  of  securing  the  position  he  coveted, 
Jackson  sought  a  personal  interview  with  Sevier,  and 
pressed  upon  him  his  claims  to  the  office.  Naturally  dis- 
inclined to  intrust  duties  so  responsible  to  a  man  who 
had  no  knowledge  of  the  military  art,  nor  any  martial 
experience  beyond  that  to  be  gained  in  a  bar-room  brawl, 
or  a  scrimmage  at  a  cross-roads,  the  Governor  received 
Jackson's  proposals  with  decided  coolness.  But  the 
cooler  he  grew  the  hotter  became  the  applicant,  and  he 
soon  broke  into  the  absurd  gasconading  which,  according 
to  his  biographers,  he  occasionally  indulged  in,  even 
when  accumulated  years  should  have  taught  him  better 
manners.  He  had  been,  prior  to  1795,  a  private  in  one 
or  two  Indian  fights  under  Sampson  Williams,  a  noted 
captain  of  Eobertson's,  and  he  probably  boasted  of  these 
exploits,  of  which  there  are  still  traditions  in  Nashville. 
This  disgusted  Sevier,  who  was  embodied  frankness,  and 
had  a  peculiarly  sarcastic  smile  by  which  he  put  down 


CLOSING  YEARS.  305 

officious  pretension.     He  said  to  Jackson  that  he  had 
never  heard  of  any  of  his  military  exploits,  except  his 
carrying  away  of  another  man's  wife.    The  allusion  was 
to  the  fact  that  not  long  before  Jackson  had  escorted  his 
future  wife,  then  Mrs.  Robards,  to  Natchez,  to  remove 
her  from  the  persecution  of  a  brutal  husband.     The 
event  created  a  great  scandal  at  the  time,  but  there  can 
be  no  question  that  the  relations  between  Jackson  and 
Mrs.  Kobards  were  innocent,  and  that  she  was  justified  in 
fleeing  from  her  husband.    To  the  end  of  his  life  Jack- 
son was  extremely  sensitive  to  any  disparaging  allusions 
to  his  wife,  and  he  now  promptly  challenged  Sevier  to  a 
duel.     Jackson  was  but  thirty-six,  Sevier  nearly  sixty 
-an  age  when  even  military  men  are  exempted  from  the 
practice  of  human  slaughter;  but  the  custom  of  the 
time  regarded  dueling  as  the  genteel  mode  of  healing 
differences  between  gentlemen,  and  Sevier  accepted  the 
chaUenge,  by  writing  Jackson  the  note  which  follows  : 

"Kkoxtille,  October  S,  180S. 

"Sie:  Yours  to-day,  by  Andrew  Whithe,  Esq.,  I 
have  received,  and  am  pleased  with  the  contents,  so  far 
as  respects  a  personal  interview. 

"Your  ungentlemanly  and  gasconading  conduct  of 
yesterday,  and,  indeed,  at  all  other  times  heretofore, 
have  unmasked  you  to  me  and  to  the  world.  The 
voice  of  the  Assembly  has  made  you  a  judge,  and  this 
alone  renders  you  worthy  of  my  notice,  or  that  of  any 


306  JOHN   SEVIER. 

other  gentleman.      To   the  office  I  have  respect,  and 
this  only  makes  you  worthy  of  notice. 

*'I  shall  wait  on  you  with  pleasure  at  any  time 
and  place  not  within  the  State  of  Tennessee,  attended 
by  my  friend,  with  pistols,  presuming  you  know  noth- 
ing about  the  use  of  any  other  arms.  Georgia,  Virginia, 
and  North  Carolina  are  in  our  vicinity,  and  we  can 
easily  repair  to  either  of  those  places,  and  conveniently 
retire  into  the  inoffending  government.  You  can  not 
mistake  me  or  my  meaning. 

**  Yours,  etc.,  etc., 

'*JoHN  Sevier. 
"  Hon.  A.  Jackson." 

To  this  Jackson  replied  that  it  was  in  the  town  of 
Knoxville  that  Sevier  had  taken  the  name  of  a  lady 
''into"  his  polluted  lips,  and  in  the  neighborhood  of 
Knoxville  he  should  atone  for  it,  or  he  would  publish 
him  as  "a  coward  and  a  poltroon." 

Sevier  then  dispatched  to  Jackson  his  second,  with 
a  note,  saying  the  gentleman  would  arrange  upon  a 
''time  and  place  of  rendezvous."  No  arrangement 
was  made,  for  Jackson  insisted  on  a  meeting  in  the 
vicinity  of  Knoxville.  Some  correspondence  ensued, 
which  Sevier  closed  by  a  note  in  which  he  said  :  "An 
interview  within  the  State  you  know  I  have  denied. 
Anywhere  outside,  you  have  nothing  to  do  but  to 
name  the  place  and  I  will  the  time.  I  have  some  re- 
gard for  the  laws  of  the  State  over  which  I  have  the 


CLOSING  YEARS.  307 

honor  to  preside,  although  you,  a  judge,  appear  to  have 
none.''* 

This  closed  the  correspondence,  but  it  did  not  pacify 
the  irate  Jackson,  who  soon  afterward  made  an  assault 
upon  Sevier  in  the  streets  of  Knoxville.  Both  were 
mounted,  and  Sevier  was  surrounded  by  about  twenty 
horsemen.  Jackson  was  much  more  thinly  attended, 
and  armed  only  with  a  cane  and  a  brace  of  pistols ; 
but,  putting  his  cane  in  rest,  like  the  lance  of  a  plumed 
knight,  he  charged  down  upon  Sevier  most  furiously. 
The  latter  dismounted  to  meet  the  assault ;  but  a  col- 
lision was  prevented  by  the  attending  gentlemen,  who 
soon  pacified  Jackson,  and  induced  him  to  give  his  hand 
to  the  Governor. 

But  they  never  became  friends,  and,  indeed,  they 
could  not  well  be,  for  they  could  not  meet  on  any 
common  ground  of  fraternity.  Both  were  brave,  honest, 
and  intensely  patriotic  ;  but  in  all  other  respects  they 
were  as  far  asunder  as  the  antipodes.  Jackson  was  a 
born  fighter,  by  his  very  nature  aggressive,  and  delight- 
ing to  struggle  with  men,  either  with  arms  or  in  the 
political  arena ;  and  it  was  this  trait  which  made  him, 
though  essentially  just,  kind,  and  good,  the  best-hated 
man  who  has  lived  in  this  country.  Sevier,  on  the 
contrary,    though    he   had   a  genius   for   war,    was    by 

*  This  correspondence  appeared  in  full,  some  years  ago,  in  the  "  Cin- 
cinnati  Commercial " ;  and  it  is  quoted  entire  by  Professor  Clayton,  in 
his  '*  History  of  Davidson  County."  Mr.  Clayton  has,  however,  I  think, 
fallen  into  error  in  regard  to  some  of  the  attending  circumstances. 


308  JOHN  SEVIER. 

nature  a  man  of  jDeace  and  a  lover  of  harmony.  He 
was  kindly  affectioned  to  all,  high  and  low,  white  man 
and  red,  and  ever  ready  to  sacrifice  for  the  meanest, 
rest,  comfort,  and  property.  Moreover,  he  had  a  sjbrict 
regard  for  decorum,  was  a  born  gentleman,  actually 
loathing  the  low  sports  and  roistering  gasconade  to 
which  Jackson  was  at  this  time  addicted.  Sevier  never 
regained  his  respect  for  this  man,  who  was  so  strangely 
destined  to  rise  to  the  highest  station,  and  even  in  his 
retired  old  age  to  control  so  absolutely  the  politics  of  this 
country.  "When  Jackson's  fame  was  at  its  zenith,  and 
the  country  was  ringing  with  his  military  successes, 
Sevier  would  not  admit  that  he  had  the  ability  to  com- 
mand, and,  in  a  letter  to  his  son,  severely  criticised 
his  conduct  of  the  Creek  campaign.* 

But,  though  apparently  reconciled  to  Sevier,  Jack- 
son's feeling  toward  him  continued  to  be  extremely 
bitter.  Soon  after  the  events  just  narrated,  his  brother- 
in-law,  Donelson,  was  indicted  for  frauds  in  the  sale  of 
lands,  and  at  once  Jackson  charged  that  Sevier  was 
implicated  in  the  transactions.  The  charge  was  speedily 
disproved,  and  from  the  first  the  people  knew  it  to  be 
absurd,  for,  with  every  ability  and  facility  for  making 
money,  Sevier  was  so  poor  that,  but  for  his  wife's  ex- 
cellent management  of  his  plantation,  he  could  not 
have  supported  his  family.  But  the  charge  showed 
the  animus  of  Jackson,  who  never  forgot  a  friend  or 
forgave  an  enemy. 

*  See  "Rear-Guard  of  the  Revolution,"  page  314. 


CLOSING  YEAKS.  309 

Sevier  was  poor.     For  more   than  twenty  years  his 
means  had  been  exhaustively  drawn  upon  for  the  equip- 
ment  and   support   of   the   men    who   under    him   had 
fought  for   the  country  against  both   the   British   and 
the   Indians;   and    the   consequence   was   that,    though 
free  from  debt,  he  had  nothing  but  his  plantation  and 
a  meager  pittance  of  seven  hundred  and  fifty  dollars  a 
year  during  his  first  term  as  Governor  of   Tennessee. 
He  had  rendered  vast  and  vital  services  to  the  country, 
and  at  the  sacrifice  of  about  all  he  possessed,  but  he 
had  never  thought  of  asking  remuneration  from  a  gov- 
ernment that  was   quite   as  poor  as  he   was.     Blount, 
who  had  just  gone  out  of  office   as   Governor  of  the 
Territor}^  had  lived  in  a  style  of  elegance  not  common 
to  the  backwoods ;  and  it  was  but  natural  that   Sevier 
should  feel  it  incumbent  upon  him  to  support  a  town 
residence   somewhat   in   harmony   with    the   dignity   of 
the  new  State.     Accordingly,  not  realizing  exactly  how 
poor  he  was— as  few  men  do  who  have  been  reduced 
from    affluence  to  poverty— he  bought  a  house-lot  in 
Knoxville,  and,  soon  after  his  first  election  as  Governor, 
began  the  erection  of  a  spacious  brick  mansion.     How- 
ever, when  the  building  had  arrived  at  t4ie  top  of  the 
basement  story,  he   found  himself   in   the   position  of 
the  one  in  Scripture,  who  began  to  build,  and  was  not 
able  to   finish.     He  had  a   horror  of   debt ;  so,  like  an 
honest  man,  he  went  no  further,  but,  selling  his  lot  and 
unfinished   house,  he  paid  oif   his  workmen,  and   then, 
like   Cincinnatus,   retired   to   his   farm,  where   he   ever 
28 


310  JOHN  SEVIER. 

afterward  lived,  making  his  home,  wheu  obliged  to  be 
in  Knoxville  on  official  business,  with  his  son-in-law. 
Major  McLellan,  in  the  new  brick  house  which  has 
been  mentioned.  The  unfinished  house  was  bought  by 
a  Mr.  John  Park,  and  it  is  yet  standing,  and  the  property 
of  his  descendants.  Mr.  Park  completed  it  after  the 
plans  of  Sevier ;  but  he  used  a  somewhat  differently 
colored  brick  in  its  construction,  so  that  the  line  where 
Sevier  left  off  and  Park  began  was  distinctly  visible. 
That  line  has  remained  to  this  day,  a  speaking  monu- 
ment to  the  poverty,  unflinching  honesty,  and  demo- 
cratic good  sense  of  the  first  Governor  of  Tennessee. 

Near  the  main  road  leading  to  Sevierville,  and  about 
five  miles  from  the  city  of  Knoxville,  in  a  deserted 
and  worn-out  field,  are  the  ruins  of  an  old  log  station. 
During  the  war  between  Sevier  and  the  Cherokees  for 
the  protection  of  the  French  Broad  settlers,  the  place 
became  the  refuge  of  a  number  of  families,  and  it  had 
been  a  frontier  post  before  Knoxville  was  settled.  It 
was  in  a  secluded  and  picturesque  region,  where  a  copi- 
ous spring  gushes  forth  from  a  spur  of  Bay's  Mount- 
ain. The  surrounding  land  was  bought  by  Sevier  when, 
about  1790,  he  took  up  his  abode  on  the  frontier,  to 
be  nearer  to  the  hostile  Indians.  The  buildings  he  at 
once  enlarged,  and  he  kept  on  adding  to  them  year 
by  year— one  log-house  being  tacked  to  another — till 
the  structure  more  resembled  a  hamlet  than  a  single 
dwelling.  Here  he  lived  ever  after  his  futile  effort  at 
building  a   town  mansion,   in  a   style   of   rustic   sim- 


CLOSING  YEARS.  311 

plicity,  going  into  town  about  every  morning,  and  return- 
ing at  night,  and  always  on  horseback,  for  to  the  very  last 
of  his  life  he  was  never  so  much  at  home  as  when  in 
the  saddle.  Ho  was  a  superb  horseman,  and  always 
rode  a  magnificent  animal. 

The  principal  apartment  in  the  Governor's  house 
was  the  reception-room,  which  occupied  the  whole  of  one 
of  the  cabins,  and  was  furnished  in  a  manner  approach- 
ing to  elegance,  its  puncheon  floor  being  partly  covered 
on  great  occasions  with  an  imported  carpet,  which  had 
been  presented  to  the  '^  Governor's  wife,"  as  the  lady  was 
universally  styled,  by  some  one  of  her  seaboard  admirers. 
But  the  precious  rug  never  made  its  appearance  except 
to  honor  some  distinguished  guest — some  high  home 
ofiBcial  or  titled  foreigner — whom  curiosity  or  business 
had  brought  into  the  backwoods.  They  had  no  sooner 
gone  than  it  was  carefully  dusted  and  rolled  away  to  one 
side  of  the  room  by  Jeff  and  Susy,  old  servants,  who 
had  been  reared  in  the  family.  It  was  never  known  to 
remain  on  the  floor  overnight  but  on  the  single  occasion 
when,  in  1798,  Louis  Philippe  and  his  brothers  were  on 
a  visit  to  the  Governor. 

In  this  primitive  mansion  Sevier  kept  open  house 
and  entertained  his  guests  in  a  style  of  genuine  back- 
woods hospitality.  His  guests  were  numerous,  for  no 
stranger  came  into  the  country  without  calling  upon 
the  Governor,  and  his  old  companions  in  arms  often  so 
thronged  upon  him  that  the  house  could  not  contain  the 
crowd,  and  some  of  them  had  to  find  lodgings  in  the 


312  JOHN  SEVIER. 

stables — ^which,  however,  was  no  great  hardship,  for  the 
Governor's  barns  were  about  as  palatial  as  his  dwelling. 
Here,  too,  came  the  Indian  chiefs — John  Watts,  Double 
Head,  and  Esquetau  (the  Bloody  Fellow),  whom  he 
had  so  often  and  so  severely  punished — to  stretch  their 
moccasins  before  the  great  wood-fire,  eat  of  the  Gov- 
ernor's venison,  and  ask  his  advice  upon  the  important 
affairs  of  their  nation.  Dr.  Ramsey,  who  lived  near,  and 
knew  Sevier  well — he  not  dying  till  Eamsey  was  eighteen 
years  old — told  me  that  the  Indian  chiefs  were  frequent 
visitors,  and  he  never  knew  a  time  when  one  or  more  of 
Sevier's  old  soldiers  were  not  quartered  at  the  mansion ; 
and  that  he  thought  none  of  them  ever  came  to  him  with 
a  worn-out  nag,  broken  down  by  a  long  journey,  but  the 
Governor  asked  him,  on  his  going  away,  to  exchange  his 
old  horse  for  one  of  his  own  blooded  animals,  of  which 
he  always  kept  the  largest  and  finest  stud  to  be  found 
anywhere  west  of  the  Alleghanies.  ^^This  was  not 
strange,"  said  Dr.  Eamsey,  ^'for  every  man  in  the  State 
regarded  the  Governor  as  his  personal  friend,  and  looked 
upon  him  and  all  that  he  had  as  public  property  ;  and 
in  return  the  Governor  considered  all,  especially  the  poor 
and  needy,  as  his  children,  and  so  entitled  to  all  he 
had  of  time,  thought,  and  possessions." 

The  nearest  neighbors  of  Sevier  were  his  old  com- 
patriots and  devoted  friends,  James  White,  James  Cozby, 
Francis  A.  Ramsey,  the  father  of  the  historian,  and  the 
John  Adair  of  whom  I  have  made  honorable  mention 
in  a  previous  volume.      With  them  and  his  family  he 


CLOSING  YEAES.  313 

was  a  regular  attendant  on  Sunday  services,  in  a  little 
stone  church,  at  a  hamlet  called   Lebanon,  about  half 
a  mile  distant  from  his  dwelling.     He  had  a  pew  of 
his  own,  but  he  usually  sat  with  his  tried  and  trusty 
friend  Cozby,  iu  a  high-backed,  old-fashioned  enclosure, 
on  the  left  ot  the  aisle,  and  near  the  front  entrance.     On 
such  occasions  he  doffed  his  usual  backwoods  costume  of 
hunting-shirt  and  sword,  and  appeared  as  the  old-time 
country  gentleman-in  three-cornered  hat,  powdered  ha,r, 
ruffled  shirt,  and  citizen's  clothes  generally.     His  de- 
meanor in  church  was  grave  and  reverential,  and  he  never 
failed  to  give  respectful  attention  to  the  services ;  but  the 
stroncT  Calvinism  of  the  pastor,  the  Rev.  Samuel   Car- 
rick,  was  not  to  his  liking.     He  was  too  democratic  in 
leelincr  to  accept  a  creed  which  elects   a  few  to  happi- 
ness, and  consigns  all  the  rest  of  the  human  race  to 
eternal  reprobation,  which  doctrine  at  that  time  was  the 
popxilar   one  throughout  the  country.      He  could  not 
Ledit  such  a  faith,  and  it  may  be  that  for  this  reason 
he  was  never  a  church-member;  for  he  could  not  be 
a  hypocrite-professing  what  he  did  not  believe.     And 
yet  he  had  a  firm    faith    in    Providence,   and   was  « 
man   of  deeply  religious  feeling  -  ^hich  grew  deeper 
as  old  age  stole  upon  him,  and  he  came  nearer  to  the 
end  of  his  earthly  journey.     Once,  after  the  expiration 
of  his  last  term  as  Governor,  he  said  to  a  gentleman 
who  had  reminded  him  of  his  great  services  to  the 
country  and   to  Western   civilization:  "I  am  not  en- 
titled  to  the  credit,  sir;  I  have  been  merely  an  mstru- 


314  JOHN  SEVIER. 

ment — led,  and  guided,  and  guarded   by  the   Ij^fijs'ITE 

GoODis-ESS." 

Near  the  close  of  his  term  in  Congress  he  was  asked 
by  President  Monroe  to  act  as  United  States  commis- 
sioner in  running  the  boundary-line  between  Georgia 
and  the  Creek  nation.  Though  much  enfeebled  by  age 
and  infirmity,  he  accepted  the  appointment.  The  labor 
was  too  great  for  his  strength,  and,  worn  out  with  his 
work,  he  succumbed  in  the  summer  heat  to  the  fever 
incident  to  the  season  in  that  climate,  and  died  in  his 
tent,  surrounded  only  by  soldiers  and  a  few  Indian 
chieftains,  on  the  24th  of  September,  1815,  in  his 
seventy-first  year.  There  they  made  his  grave,  and 
there  his  body  lies  to-day ;  over  it  merely  a  simple 
slab,  on  which  is  rudely  cut  the  name  ^^JoHis" 
Seviek." 

When  tidings  of  his  death  reached  Tennessee,  the 
whole  State  went  into  mourning.  For  the  space  of 
thirty  days  every  public  building  was  draped  in  black, 
and  all  the  State  officials  wore  crape  upon  their  arms. 
A  general  soitow  was  diffused  throughout  Tennessee 
and  the  whole  Western  country.  And  well  might  the 
people  mourn,  for  ''a  great  man  had  fallen  in  Israel." 
I  have  called  him  a  hero,  a  soldier,  and  a  statesman  ; 
but  he  was  more  than  all  these  :  he  was  a  civilizer, 
a  great  organizer,  a  nation-builder.  He  found  Tennes- 
see a  little  cluster  of  log-houses,  and  he  left  it  a  great 
State,  with  happy  homesteads,  and  smiling  villages,  and 
populous  cities,  in  which  were  palatial   dwellings   and 


CLOSING  YEARS.  315 

magnificent   temples,  and   a   population  of   nearly   four 
hundred  thousand  souls. 

To  this  day  Tennessee  has  left  him  without  a  monu- 
ment ;  and  it  may  be  said  that  no  monument  can  so 
well  proclaim  his  greatness  as  the  great  State  which 
he  builded.  This  may  be  true,  and  yet  we  do  honor  to 
ourselves  and  our  common  nature  when  we  rear  me- 
morials to  such  men  ;  and  it  is  fitting  that  we  should 
preserve  their  names  and  deeds  in  ever-during  brass 
and  marble,  for  they  come  to  us  only  now  and  then 
through  the  centuries. 


INDEX. 


Anderson,  Joseph,  appointed  Terri- 
torial judge  by  "Washington, 
223. 

Bailj,  Francis,  description  of  the 
country  in  1797,  279-282. 

Bancroft,  George,  his  opinion  of  the 
early  North  Carolinians,  3. 

Bledsoe,  Anthony,  letter  to  Govern- 
or Caswell,  131 ;  solicits  aid  of 
Sevier,  140. 

Blount,  "William,  appointed  Govern- 
or of  the  Southwest  Territory, 
223  ;  his  character,  223 ;  anecdote 
of,  225  ;  attends  treaty  of  Uol- 
ston,  231 ;  removes  to  Knoxville, 
233  ;  builds  house  there,  234. 

Campbell,  Arthur,  proposes  to  an- 
nex Backwater  Settlements  to 
the  State  of  Franklin,  114. 

Campbell,  Judge  David,  addresses 
Governor  Caswell,  89,  90  ;  second 
letter  to  the  same,  113  ;  refuses  to 
arrest  Sevier,  199;  made  Terri- 
torial judge,  223. 

Caswell,  Richard,  Governor  of 
North  Carolina,  51 ;  his  admirable 


character,  52,  53  ;  letter  to  Se- 
vier, 53,  54  ;  the  same,  95,  96  ; 
letter  to  Evan  Shelby,  131 ;  mani- 
festo, 134-136;  its  surprising 
effects,  137. 

Cession  by  North  Carolina  of  trans- 
Alleghany  country  to  the  United 
States,  21 ;  consternation  at,  of 
western  settlers,  23,  24. 

Cherokees,  animosity  of,  44 ;  begin 
hostilities,  75,  76  ;  attack  French 
Broad  settlers,  150 ;  inflamed  to 
madness  by  the  murder  of  Old 
Tassel,  180,  181 ;  sue  to  Sevier 
for  peace,  195  ;  treaty  of  Holston 
with,  230 ;  make  a  final  treaty, 
285 ;  friendship  to  Sevier,  286. 

Churches,  backwoods,  258. 

Clarke,  General  Elijah,  letter  to  Se- 
vier, 111. 

Clergymen,  character  of  the  early, 
258. 

Cocke,  General  "William,  marches 
to  relief  of  French  Broad  settlers, 
SO;  holds  talk  with  Cherokees, 
81-84  ;  addresses  North  Carolina 
Legislature,  90-94  ;  letter  to  El- 
holm,  145. 


318 


INDEX. 


Congress,  its  limited  powers  under 
the  Confederation,  21. 

Convention,  constitutional,  of 
Franklin,  64. 

Cowan,  Samuel  and  Arthur,  among 
the  first  settlers  of  Knoxville, 
230;  their  "wonderful"  store, 
260,  261. 

Cozby,  Major,  heroic  rescue  of  Se- 
vier, 204-212 ;  removes  to  vicini- 
ty of  Knoxville,  230  ;  defends  his 
house  from  Indian  attack,  254 ; 
neighbor  to  Sevier,  312. 

Creeks,  treaty  with,  224. 

Dyke,  a  Tory,  plots  to  murder  Se- 
vier, and  is  betrayed  by  his  wife, 
207  ;  is  hanged,  208. 

Elholm,  Major,  letter  to  Governor 
of  Georgia,  100,  101 ;  present  at 
attack  on  Tipton's  house,  152. 

Franklin,  State  of,  formed,  34  ;  ter- 
ritory of,  35  ;  population  of,  36  ; 
currency,  40,  41 ;  coins  silver, 
41 ;  concludes  treaty  with  Chero- 
kees,  42 ;  calls  for  volunteers  to 
aid  Georgia,  102 ;  feeling  in,  to- 
ward North  Carolina,  113;  pros- 
perity in,  126  ;  civil  disturbances, 
129;  expires,  March  1,  1788, 
137. 

Franklin,  Benjamin,  letter  from,  to 
Sevier,  143,  144. 

French  Broad  settlers,  account  of, 
158-161;  anarchy  among,  220; 
a  government  drafted  for  them 
by  Sevier,  220. 


Georgia,  prepares  to  war  upon  the 
Creeks,  99  ;  appoints  Sevier  brig- 
adier-general, 99 ;  appeals  to  him 
for  aid,  147. 

Greeneville,  Tennessee,  description 
of,  163,  164. 

Hopewell,  treaty  of,  61,  83. 

Houston,  Rev.  Samuel,  his  constitu- 
tion, 64-66;  co-operates  with 
Tipton,  70. 

Hubbard,  Major  James,  kills  Untoo- 
la,  44 ;  decoys  Old  Tassel  to  his 
death,  178. 

Jackson,  Andrew,  present  at  Se- 
vier's rescue,  213;  at  his  inaugu- 
ration, 266  ;  challenges  Sevier  to 
a  duel,  305  ;  his  character  at  this 
time,  307. 

Johnston,  Governor  of  North  Caro- 
lina, orders  arrest  of  Sevier  for 
high  treason,  198. 

Kentucky,  population  of,  270. 

Kirk,  a  settler,  murder  of  his  fam- 
ily, 175,  176;  son  of,  murders 
Cherokee  chieftains,  178,  179. 

Knoxville,  settlement  of,  by  James 
"White  and  James  Conner,  226 ; 
White's  fort  built,  228;  threat- 
ened with  attack,  236-239  ;  "  Ga- 
zette "  established,  256 ;  postal 
service,  256  ;  "  rapid  growth  of, 
260  ;  old  buildings  remaining  in, 
268. 

McEwin,  Harriet,  bravery  at  Hous- 
ton's Station,  185. 


INDEX. 


310 


Mann,  Mrs.  George,  heroic  defense 
of  her  home  and  children,  255. 

Martin,  Governor  Alexander,  of 
North  Carolina,  unwise  course 
with  the  Cherokees,  45,  46  ;  man- 
ifesto of,  49-51. 

Martia,  Joseph,  Indian  agent,  his 
treacherous  course,  55-57 ;  holds 
a  council  with  the  Cherokees,  55- 
60;  letter  to  Governor  Caswell, 
60 ;  secures  treaty  of  Hopewell, 
61 ;  in  command  of  western  mili- 
tia, 162  ;  treacherous  designs, 
162,  163;  letters  to  Governor 
Johnston  and  General  Kennedy, 
169, 170;  claims  payment  for  his 
defeated  soldiers,  217;  removed 
from  command,  and  sinks  into 
obscurity,  217. 

North  Carolina,  early  settlers  of,  2  ; 
character  of  the  population  in  the 
Revolution,  3-6 ;  financial  condi- 
tion, 20 ;  cedes  western  territory 
to  the  United  States,  21 ;  repeals 
cession  act,  27;  partial  election 
law,  68-70 ;  action  of  the  Legisla- 
ture, 97 ;  settlers'  dissatisfaction 
with,  221 ;  again  cedes  trans- 
Alleghany  country  to  the  United 
States,  222. 

Partial  election  law,  69,  70. 

Pioneer  life  in  1796,  246-269; 
great  change  in,  consequent  upon 
peace  with  the  Cherokees,  287. 

Robertson,  James,  proposes  to  join 
Franklin,  101 ;  solicits  aid  of  Se- 


vier, 140;  advocates  the  removal 
of  Sevier's  disabilities,  216  ;  vis- 
its and  pacifies  the  Cherokees, 
226;  meets  Sevier  at  Holston 
treaty,  231. 

Settlers,  early,  of  North  Carolina, 
2  ;  their  character  at  the  Revolu- 
tionary period,  3-6 ;  early  set- 
tlers on  the  Watauga,  6-9  ;  hold 
convention  at  Jonesboro,  25 ; 
decide  to  form  an  independent 
State,  26,  27. 

Sevier,  Catharine,  plans  the  rescue 
of  her  husband,  206  ;  thwarts  a 
plot  to  murder  him,  207. 

Sevier,  John,  his  character,  10,  11 ; 
early  history,  1 1-14 ;  his  first 
visit  to  Watauga,  15;  personal 
magnetism,  16,  17;  attitude  to- 
ward North  Carolina,  28  ;  op- 
poses secession,  28,  29;  makes 
the  one  mistake  of  his  lifetime, 
31 ;  explanation  of  his  course,  32- 
34 ;  elected  Governor  of  Frank- 
lin, 34  ;  how  he  executed  a  diffi- 
cult task,  36-38 ;  concludes  a 
treaty  with  Cherokees,  46-4S; 
letter  to  Governor  Caswell,  51; 
his  mild  but  efficient  rule,  55 ; 
put  in  peril  by  the  treaty  of 
Hopewell,  63 ;  address  to  the 
convention,  67  ;  invades  the  Che- 
rokee country,  76-80 ;  makes 
overtures  to  North  Carolina,  85- 
88 ;  appointed  brigadier-general 
by  Georgia,  99  ;  alternatives,  re- 
bellion or  ruin  to  Watauga,  103  ; 
reception  of  Spanish  overtures* 


320 


IXDEX. 


Ill ;  military  resources,  114, 115  ; 
letter  to  Governor  Caswell,  119; 
agreement  with  Evan  Shelby,  123- 
125;  urj:^ed  to  forcibly  resist  Xorth 
Carolina,  132 ;  solicits  interces- 
sory offices  of  Georgia,  134;  a 
private  citizen,  but  a  military 
leader,  137-139;  sends  aid  to 
Robertson,  140,  141 ;  contracts 
debts  for  that  purpose,  141,  142 ; 
elected  member  of  the  Cincinnati, 
141 ;  makes  another  attempt  at 
reconciliation,  146, 147  ;  calls  for 
volunteers  to  aid  Georgia,  148  ; 
outlawed  by  Xorth  Carolina,  149  ; 
goes  to  the  rescue  of  the  French 
Broad  settlers,  150  ;  marches 
against  Tipton,  151 ;  details  of 
the  Quaker  battle,  152-156  ;  con- 
ference with  his  officers  at  Green- 
ville, 165;  crosses  the  French 
Broad,  171  ;  letter  to  Governor 
of  Georgia,  174  ;  invades  the 
Cherokee  country,  176;  his  re- 
markable generalship,  182,  183  ; 
the  French  Broad  conflict,  183- 
195  ;  kidnapped  and  carried  to 
Xorth  Carolina,  199-202  ;  on  trial 
for  high  treason,  but  rescued  by 
Major  Cozby,  210-212 ;  elected  to 
the  Xorth  Carolina  Senate,  214 ; 
claims  his  seat,  215;  disabilities 
removed,  and  appointed  to  mili- 
tary command  of  the  western 
counties,  216;  elected  to  Con- 
gress, 217;  appointed  brigadier- 
general  by  Washington,  223  ;  re- 
moves to  the  extreme  border, 
333 ;  campaign  of  Etowah,  241- 


243 ;  inaugurated  Governor  of 
Tennessee,  265-268 ;  first  mes- 
sage to  tlie  Legislature,  275  ;  ap- 
points Tipton  to  office,  276  ;  final 
treaty  with  the  Cherokees,  285, 
286 ;  the  profound  peace  under 
his  administration,  290 ;  appoint- 
ed brigadier-general  in  the  United 
States  army,  290  ;  six  times 
unanimously  elected  Governor, 
and  three  times  Congressman, 
291 ;  his  unique  administration, 
292 ;  popularity,  293,  294  ;  mes- 
sage, 299-301 ;  his  poverty,  309 ; 
attempts  to  build  and  is  not  able 
to  finish,  309  ;  suiiple  way  of  life, 
310-312;  his  death,  314;  the 
State  goes  into  mourning  for  his 
loss,  314. 

Shelby,  Evan,  appointed  to  com- 
mand the  Watauga  militia,  123  ; 
agreement  with  Sevier,  123;  ap- 
peals to  Xorth  Carolina  for  help, 
130. 

Spain,  in  secret  league  with  the 
Creeks,  43  ;  designs  of,  99  ;  state- 
ment of  affairs  with,  103-111; 
continued  intrigues  of,  232 ;  treaty 
of  the  United  States  with,  276. 

Spencer,  Judge,  of  Xorth  Carolina, 
issues  warrant  for  Sevier's  arrest, 
199;  his  singular  death,  213. 

Sunday  among  the  pioneers,  258,  259. 

Tatham,  William,  an  upright  law- 
yer, 297,  298. 

Tennessee,  area  of,  245 ;  population 
of,  in  1796,  271 ;  admitted  as  a 
State,  278. 


^: 


INDEX. 


321 


Territory  southwest  of  the  river 
Ohio,  formed,  222  ;  William 
Blount  appointed  Governor,  222  ; 
the  Legislature  meets,  271-2'73. 

Thirteen  colonies,  characterized  by 
Rev.  Hugh  Jones,  1  ;  currency 
of,  39. 

Thomas,  Isaac,  names  his  hamlet 
Scvierville,  221. 

Tipton,  John,  a   noisy  secessionist, 

30  ;  character  of  his  family,  30, 

31  ;  harangues  for  secession,  31 ; 
at  the  Franklin  Convention,  GG  ; 
is  suddenly  converted  to  North 
Carolina,  6G ;  in  Xorth  Carolina 
Senate,  73  ;  speech  to  the  Senate, 
91,  95  ;  his  turbulent  action,  120- 
123;  more  violence  from,  145; 
seizes  Sevier's  negroes,  150  ;  op- 
poses the  removal  of  Sevier's  dis- 
abilities, 215  ;     rencounter  with 


Colonel  Roddy,  215  ;  musters 
five  men,  attacks  a  distillery, 
marches  home,  and  goes  out  of 
history,  240,  241. 

Untoola,  consequences  of  his  kill- 
ing, 44. 

Watts,  John,  lays  an  ambuscade  for 
Sevier,  79,  188 ;  sues  to  Sevier 
for  peace,  195 ;  raid  upon  Knox- 
ville,  236 ;  punished  by  Sevier, 
243  ;  subsequent  friendship  with 
Sevier,  312. 

White,  Ilugh  Lawson,  kills  King- 
Fisher,  243  ;  his  early  education, 
247. 

White,  James,  first  settler  of  Knox- 
ville,  226;  builds  a  fort,  228; 
proposes  to  heroically  defend  it, 
23G. 


2d 


THE   END. 


^ 


